Russia’s space chief has visited the United States to discuss cooperation between Moscow and Washington on the International Space Station and lunar research with NASA’s acting chief, the first such face-to-face meeting in more than seven years.

Bakanov and Duffy were expected to discuss extending the two countries' astronaut seat exchange agreement - in which U.S. astronauts fly on Russian Soyuz capsules in exchange for Russian astronauts flying on U.S. capsules - and the planned disposal of the ISS in 2030, according to Russian news agency TASS.

The heads of NASA and Russia's space agency will watch American, Russian, and Japanese astronauts launch to the International Space Station from Florida on Thursday, a routine crew rotation flight coinciding with a rare face-to-face meeting between U.