NASA astronauts say ultrasound machine was “super handy” in medical crisis

Medical crisis response drew on on-station ultrasound

Cape Canaveral, Florida, was the setting for the astronauts’ first public appearance since returning to Earth after being evacuated from the International Space Station, an event NASA described as its first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight.

The crew, speaking Wednesday, declined to name which of them needed medical attention and would not say what the concern was.

Fincke: ultrasound machine proved “super handy”

NASA’s Mike Fincke said the astronauts used the station’s onboard ultrasound machine once the medical problem arose on Jan. 7, the day before a planned spacewalk was canceled. Fincke said the device had already been used extensively for routine checks of their body changes while they lived in weightlessness, which made it available when the emergency occurred.

“so when we had this emergency, the ultrasound machine came in super handy.” Fincke said the machine helped and that future missions should carry one as well. He added, “It really helped,” and said they did not have other large machines like those on planet Earth.

Fincke also said that while NASA works to make sure astronauts are “really, really not prone to surprises,” surprises can still happen and that preparation was “super important.”

Cardman says NASA made “all the right decisions”

NASA’s Zena Cardman, who commanded the crew’s early return flight with SpaceX, said the space station is set up as well as it can be for medical emergencies. She said NASA made “all the right decisions” by canceling the spacewalk and prioritizing the crew’s well-being, adding that the canceled spacewalk would have been her first.

Yui: training prepared the crew for hard situations

Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui said he was surprised by how well preflight training paid off in dealing with the health concerns. “We can handle any kind of difficult situation,” Yui said, describing the episode as “actually very, very good experience for the future of human spaceflight.”

Mission ended early; replacements awaiting mid-February launch

The mission ultimately lasted about 5 1/2 months and ran more than a month shorter than planned. Russia’s Oleg Platonov launched last August from Florida and splashed down in the Pacific off the San Diego coast last week.

Welcoming the evacuated crew back to Houston were their replacements, who are not due to launch until mid-February, but NASA and SpaceX are working to move the flight up. Fincke said, “We were hoping to give them hugs in space, but we gave them hugs on Earth.”