Additional Coverage:
- NASA makes ‘unprecedented’ call to bring astronauts home after illness, expert says: ‘Evacuated from orbit’ (foxnews.com)
NASA Makes “Unprecedented” Call: ISS Crew Headed Home Early After Medical Emergency
In a historic first for the International Space Station (ISS), NASA has ordered the early return of a four-person crew following a medical emergency in orbit. This marks the first time in the ISS’s 25-year history that a mission has been cut short due to health concerns.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced Thursday that a single crew member experienced a medical situation on January 7th and is now stable. After extensive consultations with medical professionals and agency leadership, the decision was made to bring the entire Crew-11 team back to Earth sooner than planned.
“For over 60 years, NASA has set the standard for safety and security in crewed space flight,” Isaacman stated during a news conference. “The health and the well-being of our astronauts is always and will be our highest priority.”
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft will transport Crew-11 back to Earth in the coming days. The crew, comprising Commander Zena Cardman, pilot Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, arrived at the ISS in August and was initially scheduled for a six to eight-month stay.
Space historian and NASA expert Rod Pyle underscored the gravity of the situation, noting that while a previous astronaut suffered deep vein thrombosis, that issue was stabilized in orbit. “The declaration of a medical emergency in space is unprecedented, certainly in the operation of the International Space Station,” Pyle explained.
“This is the first time in the history of the ISS. And as far as I remember, the first time in the history of the American space program, where somebody had to be brought home early, in effect, evacuated from orbit.”
Pyle, who has a background at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Johnson Space Center, commended Isaacman’s decisive action. He acknowledged the “ripple effects” this early return would have on ongoing research at the station. Astronauts typically dedicate nearly half their time on the ISS to research, with the remainder spent on maintenance.
“Now some of that load will probably be handed off to the astronauts that remain behind,” Pyle commented. “But this does throw a bit of a ripple into the works.
And what’s kind of critical about that, this would be important at any time, but we don’t have a lot of time left with the International Space Station as it is being de-orbited in 2030.” The impact on the station’s remaining research and the transition to private space stations remains to be seen.