New York: NASA is cutting short the mission of four astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after one crew member experienced a medical problem, prompting what the agency described as its first medical evacuation from the orbiting laboratory. The group will be brought back to Earth in the coming days, earlier than originally scheduled, officials confirmed on Thursday. 

The agency has cancelled what would have been its first spacewalk of the year due to the health concern. NASA did not reveal the identity of the affected astronaut or the nature of the condition, citing medical confidentiality, but noted the individual is currently stable.

NASA ‘erring on the side of caution’

Dr James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, emphasised that the situation did not constitute an onboard emergency. Nevertheless, the agency opted to act proactively to safeguard the astronaut’s wellbeing. Polk added that although astronauts have previously been treated on the ISS for relatively minor issues–including dental pain and ear discomfort–this marks the first instance in which a mission is being shortened for medical reasons.

Crew launched in August for six-month stay

The four astronauts–NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov–arrived on the space station in August via a SpaceX spacecraft. Their mission had been planned to last at least half a year.

Fincke and Cardman had been scheduled for a spacewalk to begin preparing the station for an upcoming rollout of new solar arrays intended to boost the ISS’s power supply.

Fincke is a veteran of four trips to the space station, while Yui is visiting for the second time. Cardman and Platonov are on their debut space missions.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman praised the rapid response from teams across the organisation, saying he was “proud of the swift effort” to ensure the safety of the astronauts.

Three astronauts remain on ISS

The space station will continue to be staffed by three other crew members: NASA’s Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov. They travelled to the ISS aboard a Soyuz capsule in November and are scheduled to return to Earth this summer after completing an eight-month mission.

SpaceX set to handle ISS deorbit in the future

Looking ahead, NASA has contracted SpaceX to manage the safe deorbiting of the ISS once its operational life ends. Current plans call for the spacecraft to be guided to a controlled re-entry over the ocean in late 2030 or early 2031.

(AP)