New York — NASA decided to cut short a mission aboard the International Space Station shortly after an astronaut experienced a medical problem.
The US Space Agency said on Thursday that the American, Japanese and Russian crew, consisting of four people, will return to Earth in the coming days, ahead of schedule.
NASA canceled this year’s first spacewalk due to the health issue. The space agency did not identify the astronaut or the medical problem, citing patient privacy. The crew member is now stable.
“It’s not an emergency evacuation, but we’re erring on the side of caution for the crew members,” said Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer.
The four-member crew returning home arrived at the orbiting laboratory via SpaceX in August for a stay of at least six months. The crew included Zina Cardman and Mike Finke from NASA, along with Japanese Kimiya Yui and Russian Oleg Platonov.
Finke and Cardman were supposed to do a spacewalk to make preparations for future deployment of solar panels to provide additional power to the space station.
This was Finke’s fourth visit to the space station and Yue’s second time, according to NASA. This was Cardman and Platonov’s first space flight.
“I am proud of the rapid efforts the agency has taken so far to ensure the safety of our astronauts,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
Three other astronauts currently live and work aboard the space station, including NASA’s Chris Williams and Russia’s Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, who launched in November on a Soyuz rocket for an eight-month stay. They are scheduled to return home in the summer.
NASA used SpaceX to eventually deorbit the space station by late 2030 or early 2031. Plans called for a safe reentry over the ocean.
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