NEW YORK (AP) — In an unusual decision, NASA is ending an International Space Station mission ahead of schedule after an astronaut experienced a medical problem.
NASA announced Thursday that the four-member U.S., Japanese, and Russian crew will return to Earth in the next few days, sooner than originally planned.
Spacewalk Canceled as NASA Cites Astronaut Medical Privacy
The agency also called off its first spacewalk of the year due to the health concern. NASA did not disclose the astronaut’s identity or details about the condition, citing medical privacy, and said the crew member is now in stable condition.
NASA officials emphasized that the situation did not constitute an emergency aboard the station, but said the agency is “taking a cautious approach for the astronaut,” according to Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer.
Polk noted that this marks NASA’s first medical evacuation from the International Space Station, though astronauts have previously been treated in orbit for minor issues such as dental problems and earaches.
The four astronauts now heading back to Earth arrived at the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX capsule in August for a mission planned to last at least six months. The crew consists of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.
Fincke and Cardman had been scheduled to conduct a spacewalk to prepare for the future installation of new solar arrays aimed at boosting the station’s power capacity.
According to NASA, this marked Fincke’s fourth mission to the space station and Yui’s second, while Cardman and Platonov were making their first trips to space.
NASA Administrator Commends Swift Agency Response
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised the response, saying he was “proud of the rapid, agency-wide effort to safeguard the well-being of our astronauts.”
Three additional astronauts remain aboard the International Space Station, including NASA’s Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov. The trio launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft in November for an eight-month mission and will return to Earth in the summer.
NASA has selected SpaceX to handle the eventual deorbiting of the International Space Station, targeting late 2030 or early 2031, with plans for a controlled descent and splashdown in the ocean.
Read the original article on: Sciencealert
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