No press, no family: Space crew set for launch during pandemic

A three-man space crew finished preparations on Wednesday for a mission to the International Space Station, which is going ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Russia's Roscosmos space agency and NASA's Chris Cassidy will blast off from Kazakhstan for a six-month mission at 08:05 GMT Thursday.

But with journalists and relatives unable to travel to Baikonur due to restrictions related to Covid-19, the traditional farewell press conference broadcast by Roscosmos had a more distant and sombre feel.