WASHINGTON, December 20. /TASS/. Specialists are evaluating two main reasons for the malfunction of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, NASA said on its website on Monday.

"A robotic inspection of the suspected leak area was completed December 18, using cameras on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. A small hole was observed, and the surface of the radiator around the hole showed discoloration. Roscosmos is evaluating the imagery to determine if this hole could have resulted from micrometeoroid debris or if it is one of the pre-manufactured radiator vent holes," NASA said in a statement.

On December 15, a depressurization in the external temperature regulation system of the Soyuz manned spacecraft was registered during preparations for a spacewalk. The next day, the spacecraft was subjected to a series of system tests that indicated that there were no other malfunctions.

On December 18, the spacecraft’s exterior was inspected via the station’s arm cameras, revealing the potential location of the damage to the spacecraft’s equipment compartment. According to preliminary data, the damage could have been caused by a meteoroid or space junk that hit the external cooling radiator, located on the spacecraft’s equipment compartment.