Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Jan 10: NASA has announced that it will attempt to bring four astronauts back to Earth earlier than planned after one crew member experienced a medical issue aboard the International Space Station (ISS), marking a rare precautionary move in the station’s 25-year history.
In a statement issued late Friday, the US space agency said undocking from the ISS is scheduled to take place no earlier than 5 pm (ET) on Wednesday, subject to favourable weather conditions at the splashdown site off the coast of California.
NASA clarified that while one astronaut faced a medical issue earlier this week, the condition is stable and the early return is a precautionary step rather than an emergency evacuation. The agency did not disclose further details or the identity of the affected crew member, citing medical privacy concerns.
“After discussions with chief health and medical officer Dr JD Polk and leadership across the agency, I’ve come to the decision that it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during a media briefing.
The astronauts returning to Earth are NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. Known collectively as Crew-11, they arrived at the ISS in early August and were originally scheduled to remain onboard until late February.
The crew will return in the same SpaceX Dragon capsule that transported them to the space station. If the undocking proceeds as planned, the spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean around 3.40 am on Thursday, roughly 11 hours after departure. NASA and SpaceX said more precise details on the landing time and location will be shared closer to the undocking.
Following Crew-11’s early departure, NASA will temporarily have only one US astronaut aboard the ISS — flight engineer Chris Williams, who arrived on November 27 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. He will be joined by Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev.
The next crewed mission to the ISS, Crew-12, is currently scheduled for launch in mid-February. However, Isaacman said NASA is assessing whether that mission timeline can be advanced in light of the early return.