The American bears a broad grin , flashing an `` OK '' sign to the Russian support team tending to him after his descent from space . It 's not exactly the image of two countries at extreme odds over the Ukraine crisis . But in the world of U.S.-Russian relations , space is impervious , as demonstrated by the joint effort to bring American astronaut Mike Hopkins and his cosmonaut counterparts , Soyuz Cmdr . Oleg Kotov , a native of Crimea , and fellow flight engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy , home to Earth . The Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan early Tuesday after the trio spent more than five months aboard the International Space Station , leaving the multinational astronaut delegation of Japan 's Koichi Wakata , America 's Rick Mastracchio and Russia 's Mikhail Tyurin to finish the orbital laboratory 's Expedition 39 . Those three are expected to return home in mid-May , after being joined by another international team : Steve Swanson ( U.S. ) , Alexander Skvortsov ( Russia ) and Oleg Artemyev ( Latvia ) are in Star City , Russia , training for their March 25 launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan , NASA says . Kotov is a space veteran returning from his third mission and 526th day in space . Hopkins and Ryazanskiy are rookies . This mission marked their first 166 days in space , NASA says . Hopkins conducted a pair of U.S. spacewalks for a total 12 hours and 58 minutes . Ryazanskiy conducted three Russian spacewalks during his mission working outside the station for 20 hours and five minutes . On Earth , the United States may be trading bitter accusations with Russia over Ukraine , but in space , it 's a different story . Putin vs. Obama : Facing off over facts in Ukraine . The space collaboration between the two nations has survived other diplomatic kerfuffles -- most recently , the war in Syria and asylum for NSA leaker Edward Snowden -- and there 's no need to worry , NASA says . `` We do not expect the current Russia-Ukraine situation to have any impact on our civil space cooperation with Russia , including our partnership on the International Space Station program , '' said Allard Beutel , a NASA spokesman , pointing out that it 's in both countries ' best interests not to disrupt `` operations that have maintained continuous human presence on orbit for over a decade . '' Beutel added , `` NASA and its Russian counterpart , Roscosmos , have maintained a professional , beneficial and collegial working relationship through the various ups and downs of the broader U.S.-Russia relationship and we expect that to continue . '' 'Reluctant co-dependency ' The two nations ca n't afford temporary tussles to upend a costly relationship -- one that James Oberg , a former space engineer , describes as `` reluctant co-dependency . '' In 2011 , NASA retired its space shuttle fleet , its only means of getting to and from the station . Now , Russian Soyuz capsules ferry U.S. astronauts and cosmonauts , together with supplies that can fit in the smaller craft . In turn , the United States brings to the table technology far more advanced than Russia 's capabilities , Oberg told Politico . At the same time , many of the Russian systems are more reliable because they are simpler and have been operating longer , Leroy Chiao , former NASA astronaut and International Space Station commander , told CNN . The space station itself has an intricate blend of both countries ' contributions -- from U.S. solar arrays and power systems to Russian core life-support systems , to a navigation system that comes from both countries , he said . Americans and Russians train on each other 's systems , but one country ca n't run the station alone , he said . The mission control centers in Houston and Korolyov , near Moscow , have to coordinate commands sent to the station , he said . `` We need each other to operate the station , '' Chiao said . `` Otherwise we run the risk of losing that asset . '' A pretty penny . What 's more , the agreement between the two nations is n't exactly cheap . According to a new deal NASA signed with the Russian space agency , the United States will pay Russia $ 71 million to ferry each astronaut to the space station . The emergence of private companies in the space transport business may change the game . NASA has a $ 1.6 billion contract with SpaceX to fly at least 12 cargo resupply missions to the space station , and a $ 1.9 billion contract with Orbital Sciences for eight such missions . SpaceX is gearing up for its third commercial resupply mission this month ; Orbital Sciences completed its first in February . As for transporting astronauts , NASA said in November that it 's seeking to partner with U.S. companies for human trips to the station as well , by 2017 . That could end U.S. reliance on Russia for space voyages . But for now , experts say , the U.S.-Russia relationship on space remains a marriage of convenience .
American Oleg Kotov returns to Earth with Russian , Russian cosmonauts . Even if U.S. , Russia are at odds , space collaboration endures , NASA says . Russia astronauts have no way to get to and from the International Space Station . In return , U.S. brings money , more advanced technology to table .