NASA to medically evacuate astronaut from the International Space Station

International Space Station and astronaut in outer space over the planet Earth. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

NASA has announced that the four members of SpaceX Crew 11 will return early from the International Space Station, due to a medical issue affecting one of the astronauts.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Platonov have been aboard the ISS since August 2nd and were due to return in mid-February. A planned spacewalk was scrapped at the last minute on Wednesday, and public feeds were cut off due to a “medical concern.”

Associate NASA Administrator Amit Rhea announced in a press conference on Thursday that, for the first time in the history of the ISS, an astronaut would be brought home early for medical reasons. He stressed that this was not an emergency evacuation but rather an “expedited return.” The crew member’s identity was not disclosed, nor were any details of the medical condition discussed, to protect the astronaut’s privacy.

Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. James D. Polk emphasized that the crew member is currently stable. Proper diagnosis or treatment under the challenging conditions of microgravity would be difficult, however, so the decision was made to bring the astronaut home early.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that the details of the return trip would be worked out in the next couple of days. A single NASA astronaut remains on board to maintain the American side of the station, and the launch of the Crew 12 mission to ISS will be moved up. Isaacman indicated that the Artemis II mission to the moon, currently scheduled for February, remains on schedule.