NASA returns space station crew early after astronaut medical issue

NASA returns crew early after canceled spacewalk

NASA said Thursday it will bring a U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four back to Earth earlier than planned after an astronaut had a medical issue. NASA said the crew will return in the coming days and that the crew member is now stable.

NASA canceled its first spacewalk of the year because of the health issue, and the agency did not identify the astronaut or the medical issue, citing patient privacy.

NASA officials said the situation was not an onboard emergency, and that the agency was taking the step out of caution. Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, said NASA was “erring on the side of caution for the crew member.”

Polk said the evacuation was NASA’s first medical evacuation from the space station, though astronauts have previously been treated aboard for issues such as toothaches and ear pain.

The crew scheduled to return arrived at the International Space Station via SpaceX in August for a stay of at least six months. NASA said the returning group included NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.

Fincke and Cardman were supposed to carry out the canceled spacewalk to make preparations for a future rollout of solar panels intended to provide additional power for the space station. NASA said it was Fincke’s fourth visit to the station and Yui’s second time, while the agency said it was Cardman and Platonov’s first spaceflight.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said he was “proud of the swift effort across the agency thus far to ensure the safety of our astronauts.”

NASA said three other astronauts remain aboard and working on the station. Those currently living on the orbiting lab include NASA’s Chris Williams and Russia’s Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, who launched in November aboard a Soyuz rocket for an eight-month stay and are due to return home in the summer.

NASA also said it has tapped SpaceX to eventually bring the space station out of orbit by late 2030 or early 2031. Plans call for a safe reentry over ocean.