NASA has ordered its first medical evacuation from the International Space Station in the station's 25-year history after an astronaut developed a serious but undisclosed medical condition. The agency announced in a press conference that the four-person crew, led by US commander Zena Cardman, will return to Earth earlier than planned in the coming days.
Officials did not identify the affected astronaut or the specific medical issue, citing patient privacy. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated, 'This was a serious medical condition. That is why we’re pursuing this path.' The decision follows a series of hurried statements about a medical situation that arose on Wednesday, which also forced the cancellation of the first planned spacewalk of the year.
The crew arrived on a SpaceX capsule in August for a stay of at least six months. Alongside Cardman are US astronaut Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui, and Russia's Oleg Platonov. NASA's chief health and medical officer, Dr. James Polk, said the sick crew member is now stable but there is a 'lingering risk' as the issue has not been properly diagnosed.
All four crew members must return because NASA aims to ensure the ISS never has more people on board than available seats in docked space capsules, which serve as lifeboats. The ISS will not be left empty; three other astronauts—US astronaut Chris Williams and Russia's Sergei Mikayev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov—arrived in November for an eight-month stay.
Serious medical issues have been handled on the ISS before, including a blood clot in an astronaut's jugular vein, but this situation is considered particularly serious. The only prior instance of a space agency ending a mission early for health reasons was in 1985, when Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin returned with an infection.
