NASA considers evacuating ailing crew member from International Space Station

Someone on the International Space Station suffered an unspecified “medical situation” Wednesday, prompting the postponement of a deliberate spacewalk and elevating the potential of an early return for a portion of the lab’s seven-person crew, NASA mentioned in an announcement.

NASA has by no means ordered a medical evacuation from house earlier than, however the choice has all the time been out there on the International Space Station with lifeboats prepared for activation.

The house company introduced the spacewalk postponement Wednesday afternoon on account of a “medical concern” with a member of the house station’s crew. NASA officers declined to determine the crew member or launch additional particulars about their situation, citing medical privateness restrictions.

A late-night replace

It is uncommon, however not unprecedented, for NASA to postpone a spacewalk due to a medical situation. It final occurred in 2021, when an astronaut was unable to carry out a spacewalk on account of a pinched nerve. NASA initially mentioned managers would reschedule Thursday’s deliberate tour for one more date.

But the state of affairs on the ISS appeared extra critical after a second assertion launched by NASA late Wednesday night time. NASA confirmed the medical situation concerned a single crew member and mentioned the particular person was steady. Then, NASA mentioned managers have been contemplating bringing house the ailing crew member on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

The Dragon spacecraft docked on the ISS launched August 1 with NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. This mission, designated Crew-11, was slated to finish with the crew’s undocking and return to Earth round February 20.

“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission,” NASA mentioned. “These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely. We will provide further updates within the next 24 hours.”