--- title: "NASA Astronaut Heard Rumor of Being Abandoned in Space From His Wife" description: "Left Behind A March rumor that the Russians were going to abandon an American astronaut aboard the ISS made its way to the astronaut in question in an almost-hilariously roundabout fashion. In an interview with the Washington Post, record-breaking NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei recounts how he came to learn of the Russian media-promoted rumors […]" date: "2022-05-24" modified: "2022-05-24" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-astronaut-rumor-space-wife" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "international space station" - "iss" - "NASA" - "Roscosmos" - "Russia" - "the digest" - "ukraine" --- # NASA Astronaut Heard Rumor of Being Abandoned in Space From His Wife ![A March rumor that the Russians were going to abandon an American astronaut aboard the ISS made its way to the astronaut in question in an roundabout fashion. ]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Left Behind It turns out that a March rumor that the [Russians might abandon an American astronaut]() aboard the ISS made its way to the astronaut in question in a roundabout fashion. In an [interview with the *Washington Post*](), NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei said he learned of the rumor through his spouse. "I heard about it from my wife," Vande Hei, who holds the American record for the longest consecutive ISS stay of 355 days, told *WaPo*. "Some of the allusions were that my crewmates might leave me behind. I laughed when I heard about it. I said, 'Oh, there’s no way.'" The astronaut added that although he and NASA were not at all concerned about him being left alone aboard the ISS amid tension between the US and Russia over the latter's invasion of Ukraine, his wife took some convincing. "The most difficult conversation wasn’t with my crewmates," he said. "It was with my wife trying to say, like, 'There’s no possible way that that would ever happen.'" ## Space Solidarity In the interview, Vande Hei defended his Russian crewmates, and recounted an awkward situation aboard his previous ISS flight in which they [together watched an American movie]() in which "all the bad guys were Russians." "It kind of gives me chills even thinking about it," he said, "because at one point, I looked at my cosmonaut crewmates and said, 'How does that make you feel?' And they said, 'It’s kind of scary when we see that everybody in the United States, the mass media in the United States, is portraying Russians as the bad guys.'" It's clear that to Vande Hei, the average Russian — or even the elite that become cosmonauts — is far from the bogeyman portrayed by American media . His wife, however, seems to have needed more reassuring. **READ MORE:** [How this astronaut approached U.S.-Russian relations in space]() \[*The Washington Post*\] **More on a cosmonaut who doesn't share Vande Hei's solidarity:** [*Cosmonaut Quits Because He Doesn't Want to "Work For the Americans"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()