Space Station crew blast off from Russia amid global coronavirus panic

Under usual circumstances, the departing crew would face questions from a large press pack before being waved off by family and friends. Neither were present this time round because of restrictions

A three-man crew travelled to the International Space Station on Thursday, leaving behind a planet overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic, AFP reported.

Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Russia's Roscosmos space agency and NASA's Chris Cassidy blasted off at 08:05 GMT from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where COVID-19 had caused changes to the pre-launch protocol.

Under usual circumstances, the departing crew would face questions from a large press pack before being waved off by family and friends. Neither were present this time round because of travel restrictions imposed over the virus, although the crew did respond to emailed questions from journalists in a Wednesday press conference.

Cassidy, 50, admitted the crew had been affected by their families not being unable to be in Baikonur for their blastoff to the ISS. "But we understand that the whole world is also impacted by the same crisis," Cassidy said. Astronauts routinely go into quarantine ahead of space missions and give a final press conference at Baikonur from behind a glass wall to protect them from infection.

Roscosmos said on Tuesday that cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka will fly to Russia from the cosmodrome, rather from the usual staging post of Karaganda airport, when he returns to Earth from the ISS later this month. NASA has not yet confirmed travel plans for Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir, who will be departing the ISS along with Skripochka on April 17.

The ISS typically carries up to six people at a time and has a livable space of 388 cubic metres (13,700 cubic feet) -- larger than a six-bedroom house according to NASA. Those dimensions will sound enviable to many residents of Earth, more than half of whom are on various forms of lockdown as governments respond to COVID-19 with drastic measures.

But residents of the ISS frequently feel lonely and crave home comforts.

In recent weeks, astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS and on Earth have been sharing tips on coping with self-isolation. In a piece for the New York Times last month, NASA's Scott Kelly said his biggest miss during almost a year in space was nature -- "the colour green, the smell of fresh dirt, and the feel of warm sun on my face".

While recommending fresh air walks for those still able to enjoy them, Kelly also said there was nothing wrong with people spending more time in front of a screen during isolation.