NASA Deploys Historic Early Return of Astronauts Due to Medical Issue

Science

NASA Deploys Historic Early Return of Astronauts Due to Medical Issue

4 hours ago

News sources:

BBC

SCMP

INDIATIMES

NASA Deploys Historic Early Return of Astronauts Due to Medical Issue

Credited from: SCMP

Nasa's Crew-11 astronauts will return early due to a crew member's serious medical condition.
This decision marks the first-ever early termination of a crewed mission for medical reasons in NASA’s history.
The affected astronaut is stable, and the medical concern is unrelated to space operations.
NASA cancelled a planned spacewalk for medical precaution, emphasizing astronaut health first.
Returning early may delay some ISS experiments and maintenance tasks.

NASA has announced that it will bring back the four-member Crew-11 from the International Space Station (ISS) about a month earlier than planned due to a "serious medical condition" affecting one of the astronauts. The identity of the crew member and details of the medical issue have not been disclosed, respecting health privacy. NASA emphasizes that the astronaut is stable and this is not an emergency evacuation, according to BBC and India Times.

This early return of the Crew-11, which includes astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke from NASA, Kimiya Yui from Japan's JAXA, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, is historic as it signifies NASA's first mission cut short for medical reasons in its over 60-year history. Nasa's chief health officer, Dr. James Polk, stated, "This was not an injury that occurred in the pursuit of operations," highlighting that the medical issue is unrelated to their activities on the ISS, according to South China Morning Post and India Times.

BBC and South China Morning Post.