NASA made an important statement about the ISS

Members of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel expressed "deep concern" about the aging International Space Station (ISS).

This was reported by SpaceNews.

"The ISS has entered the most risky period of its existence," said panel member Rich Williams, adding that "risks are increasing" for the station.

Some of the risks have been known for a long time, in particular, leaks in the intermediate chamber of the Zvezda module of the Russian segment of the ISS. Another problem is the development of a plan to de-orbit the station from low Earth orbit. Panel members are also concerned about maintaining a sufficient number of spare parts to keep the ISS systems in normal condition.

On April 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that there are different ideas for ending the ISS operations. He did not specify concrete options but noted that the decision would be coordinated with international partners.

On April 12, it was reported that the general director of the state corporation Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, and NASA's deputy head for space program implementation, Ken Bowersox, agreed to synchronize the timeframes for the International Space Station operations.

According to Bakanov, it is important for Russia that the manned space program is not interrupted. The Roscosmos general director also noted that the country prioritizes the development of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) to replace the ISS.