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
Tickets for 'Stranger Things' Season 5 finale, to be shown in movie theaters on New Year's Eve, go on sale today. Here's how you can save your seat. - 2From School Dropout to Example of overcoming adversity: My Excursion
- 3Embrace the Outside: Exercises and Entertainment
- 4Manual for 6 famous sorts of cheddar
- 5Israel Police arrest twenty-one as anti-war protests grow despite broad support for Iran war
- 6 Famous Urban communities for Shopping on the planet
- 2024's Driving Clearing Robots: Master Suggestions and Surveys
- Kids may be more likely to get the new ‘Cicada’ variant of Covid-19, scientists say. Here’s what to know about BA.3.2
- Activist vessel collides with krill trawler in Antarctic confrontation
- Tech giants accused of not complying with Australian social media ban
- New movies to watch this weekend: See 'The Running Man' in theaters, rent 'One Battle After Another,' stream 'Nobody 2' on Peacock
- Manual for Tracking down the Mysterious Cascades in China
- 'A perfect storm': Airlines cut flights and increase airfares as jet fuel price spikes
- Minute Maid’s frozen juice concentrate is ending after 80 years — and so is a certain kind of kitchen ritual
