NASA officials said they plan to bring the crew aboard the International Space Station home early due to what the space agency called a "medical concern" with an unidentified crew member.
They said the astronaut's condition is stable and it is not an emergency evacuation, but they want to err on the side of caution and bring them home for additional testing. Crew 11 is expected to depart on the Crew Dragon Endeavour and return to Earth in the next few days. NASA officials said this is the first controlled medical evacuation in the space station's 25-year history.
The agency stressed Thursday that in the event of an emergency de-orbit, it would have the ability to bring astronauts home within a matter of hours.
The announcement Thursday evening came after NASA scrapped a planned spacewalk earlier in the day.
NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. James D. Polk said the ISS is equipped with a "robust suite of medical hardware," but it is lacking all the tools that would be needed for a more "complete workup" of a patient. He said the medical issue rose to the level where NASA would prefer to "complete that workup on the ground."
NASA previously said it was looking into "all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew 11's mission." NASA did not specify a timetable for when a new crew would ascend to the ISS but said it was looking into possible earlier dates to launch Crew 12 to the space station.
NASA said it would not be identifying the astronaut in question or giving further details on the medical issue, but earlier said "the matter involved a single crew member who is stable."
Currently aboard the ISS are commander Mike Fincke, flight engineer Zena Cardman, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
The crew was scheduled to remain aboard the ISS until mid-February.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Latest details after ICE officer kills woman in Minneapolis shooting
Video shows moments before ICE officer fatally shoots Renee Good in Minneapolis
Protesters gather after ICE shoots and kills woman in Minneapolis
LATEST POSTS
- 1
1st human missions to Mars should hunt for signs of life, report says - 2Displaced Palestinian families suffer as heavy rains flood Gaza tent camps
- 3IDF kills four terrorists equipped with weapons, surveillance gear near Gaza's Yellow Line
- 4German foreign minister heads to China to talk rare-earth exports
- 5Israeli forces kill one person in series of attacks on southern Lebanon
- She just became the first wheelchair user to travel to space
- Instructions to Back Your Sunlight powered chargers: Tracking down Possible Choices
- The most effective method to Examine a Cellular breakdown in the lungs Finding with Family
- Highlight Correlation of Microsoft Surface Book and Surface Genius Workstations for Determination
- ‘The White Lotus’ sparked online interest in risky anxiety pills, study says
- The Force of Systems administration: Individual Examples of overcoming adversity
- The Delight of Perusing: Book Proposals for Each Class
- 6 Exceptionally Appraised Summer Travel Objections
- Figure out How to Modify Your Pre-assembled Home for Greatest Solace and Stylish Allure
