NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended Tuesday's scheduled launch of a joint U.S.-Russian crew to the International Space Station (ISS), highlighting continued space cooperation between Washington and Moscow despite ongoing tensions over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Isaacman's visit to the Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan marked the first trip by a NASA chief to the facility in eight years.

During a meeting with the crew on Monday, Isaacman thanked Russia's state space agency, Roscosmos, for its efforts in preparing the mission, saying the work carried out over the past several months demonstrated the professionalism and dedication of everyone involved.

Ahead of the launch, Isaacman also met Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina were set to lift off aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft for an eight-month mission aboard the ISS.

The mission will be Menon's first journey to space, while it marks the second spaceflight for both Dubrov and Kikina.

Once aboard the station, the three will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrei Fedyaev.

Former Cold War rivals, the United States and Russia have continued to cooperate on the ISS and other space activities despite strained relations following Russia's military action in Ukraine in 2022. The two countries have maintained crew exchange missions, with American and Russian astronauts flying aboard each other's spacecraft.

However, broader space cooperation has stalled. Plans for possible Russian participation in NASA's Artemis lunar exploration programme have been abandoned, while Roscosmos has expanded cooperation with China on a planned lunar mission as Russia deepens economic and technological ties with Beijing amid Western sanctions.