Space and Physics
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NASA is considering bringing four astronauts back to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) early due to an undisclosed "medical concern" with one of the crewmembers.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.NASA had planned for a spacewalk today, to provide power to the aging space station in its final years and for its eventual deorbit and return to the Earth.
"During U.S. spacewalk 94, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman will exit the station’s Quest airlock to prepare the 2A power channel for future installation of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays," NASA explained ahead of the spacewalk. "Once installed, the array will provide additional power for the orbital laboratory, including critical support of its safe and controlled deorbit."
However, on Wednesday the US space agency provided an update, postponing the planned walk due to a "medical concern" with one of the crewmembers.
"The agency is monitoring a medical concern with a crew member that arose Wednesday afternoon aboard the orbital complex," NASA said in an update. "Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member. The situation is stable. NASA will share additional details, including a new date for the upcoming spacewalk, later."
In a further update via email on Thursday, NASA stressed that the crewmember was in a stable condition, but that all options were on the table for protecting the health of the astronaut.
"Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission," the emailed update reads, per Space.com.
"These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely. We will provide further updates within the next 24 hours."
Crew 11, consisting of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui from the JAXA space agency, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, launched on August 1, 2025 for a six-month stay on the ISS. Though it appears only one crewmember is affected by the medical situation, the whole crew would have to be brought home if NASA deems it necessary to return them to Earth for medical attention.
"They would all come back together as a team, because, you don't want to leave one or more team member behind," Dr Simeon Barber, a space scientist at the Open University, explained to BBC News.
"Our top priority is the safe execution of our missions, and we are thoroughly assessing all possibilities, including the option of concluding Crew 11's mission ahead of schedule," a NASA spokesperson added to the BBC.
Were the crew to depart early, three crewmembers would remain on board: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev. The space station has been continuously occupied since 2000, regularly requiring maintenance by its crew. Only rarely has the crew complement dropped as low as three during recent years, but it has happened on occasion, such as in 2016 and 2018.
The current situation remains uncertain, though NASA says it will provide further updates in the next day.
