NASA officials said they plan to bring the crew aboard the International Space Station home early due to what the space agency called a "medical concern" with an unidentified crew member.
They said the astronaut's condition is stable and it is not an emergency evacuation, but they want to err on the side of caution and bring them home for additional testing. Crew 11 is expected to depart on the Crew Dragon Endeavour and return to Earth in the next few days. NASA officials said this is the first controlled medical evacuation in the space station's 25-year history.
The agency stressed Thursday that in the event of an emergency de-orbit, it would have the ability to bring astronauts home within a matter of hours.
The announcement Thursday evening came after NASA scrapped a planned spacewalk earlier in the day.
NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. James D. Polk said the ISS is equipped with a "robust suite of medical hardware," but it is lacking all the tools that would be needed for a more "complete workup" of a patient. He said the medical issue rose to the level where NASA would prefer to "complete that workup on the ground."
NASA previously said it was looking into "all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew 11's mission." NASA did not specify a timetable for when a new crew would ascend to the ISS but said it was looking into possible earlier dates to launch Crew 12 to the space station.
NASA said it would not be identifying the astronaut in question or giving further details on the medical issue, but earlier said "the matter involved a single crew member who is stable."
Currently aboard the ISS are commander Mike Fincke, flight engineer Zena Cardman, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
The crew was scheduled to remain aboard the ISS until mid-February.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Latest details after ICE officer kills woman in Minneapolis shooting
Video shows moments before ICE officer fatally shoots Renee Good in Minneapolis
Protesters gather after ICE shoots and kills woman in Minneapolis
latest_posts
- 1
Tatiana Schlossberg, JFK's granddaughter, dies at 35 after terminal cancer diagnosis - 2Find Wonderful Stream Voyage Objections On the planet
- 3Investigating the Advantages of a Bank account: A Complete Aide
- 4'The Beast in Me' arrives on Netflix: Is it based on a true story? And what drew Claire Danes to it? What to know about the thriller series.
- 5Cheetah, Hammerhead Shark, and 38 Other Animals in Danger of Extinction Receive New International Protections from U.N.
- How Google, Microsoft, Walmart, and other corporate giants are preparing for an aging workforce
- Incredible Travel Objections for Craftsmanship Darlings to Visit
- Parents who delay baby's first vaccines also likely to skip measles shots
- Scientists sent a menstrual cup to space. This is how it went
- Interoceanic Train derails in southern Mexico, injuring at least 15 and halting traffic on line
- Hundreds of kilos of protected plant seized by Israel Nature and Parks Authority in Golan
- The Force of Organic product: 10 Assortments That Improve Your Wellbeing
- A decade after Brazil’s deadly dam collapse, Indigenous peoples demand justice on the eve of COP30
- Mom finds out she has cancer after noticing something was off while breastfeeding
