NASA Crew-11 mission to return from ISS earlier than planned due to 'serious medical condition'
The space agency announced it will undertake its first ever "controlled medical evacuation" to return the four crew members to Earth in the next few days.
CREW-11 mission before liftoff
The NASA administration confirmed that members of the Crew-11, currently on the International Space Station (ISES), will return to Earth earlier than planned due to a medical problem detected in one of its members. According to the agency's administrator, Jared Isaacman, the astronaut is in stable condition.
Although the agency has not revealed specific details about the pathology, it has emphasized that this early return should not be considered an emergency evacuation, but a preventive measure based on the "lingering risk."
A strategic decision in the face of diagnostic uncertainty
NASA's chief medical and health officer, James Polk, explained that the decision to bring the crew back was based on "lingering question as to what that diagnosis is."
For his part, Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya noted the uniqueness of the event: this is the "first time we've done a controlled medical evacuation from the vehicle. So that is unusual."
"Yesterday was a textbook example of that training in action. Once the situation on the station stabilized, careful deliberations led us to the decision to return Crew 11... while ensuring minimal operational impact to ongoing work aboard," he also said.
Details of Crew 11 and the impact on the mission
- Michael Fincke (U.S. pilot, NASA)
- Zena Cardman (U.S. commander, NASA)
- Kimiya Yui (Japanese mission specialist, from the Japanese agency JAXA)
- Oleg Platonov (Russian mission specialist, from Russia's Roscosmos)
The purpose of the mission is to conduct research, technology demonstrations and maintenance activities on the ISS. Due to this premature departure, some critical activities have been put on hold:
- Spacewalk: Fincke and Cardman were scheduled for a six-hour sortie to perform critical upgrades to the ISS electrical system.
- Transition: The astronauts had been on the station since Aug. 1 and were originally scheduled to return later this month.
The immediate future on the International Space Station.
Despite the departure of Crew-11 in the coming days, the human presence on the orbiting laboratory continues. They currently remain on the ISS:
- Christopher Williams (NASA), who arrived on a Russian mission.
- Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev
NASA has indicated that it is highly likely that the next U.S. mission will blast off to the ISS ahead of schedule to keep the flow of scientific research and maintenance of the space platform going.
LATEST
