Nasa orders its first-ever space station medical evacuation after astronaut falls ill | Agency says US-Japanese-Russian crew of four will return to Earth in the coming days, earlier than planned
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/08/nasa-spacewalk-medical-issue-astronaut
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>Nasa has ordered its first medical evacuation from the International Space Station in its 25-year history after an astronaut in the orbital laboratory fell ill with a “serious” but undisclosed issue.
>The US space agency said in a press conference that the crew of four led by the US commander Zena Cardman would return to Earth in the coming days, earlier than planned.
>Officials did not identify the astronaut or the issue, citing patient privacy. “This was a serious medical condition,” Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, said. “That is why we’re pursuing this path.”
>The decision to evacuate the team in a space capsule comes after a series of hurried Nasa statements about a medical situation that arose on Wednesday. The development later forced the agency to cancel its first spacewalk of the year.
>Isaacman said Nasa expected to provide updates in the next 48 hours on the astronauts’ undocking and atmospheric reentry timeline.
>The crew of four arrived on a SpaceX capsule in August for a stay of at least six months. Cardman is accompanied by the US astronaut Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.
>The sick crew member was now stable but there was a “lingering risk”, said Nasa’s chief health and medical officer, Dr James Polk, adding that the issue has not been properly diagnosed.
If you’ve ever gotten sick while on vacation and felt guilty about it…I imagine its that times a billion.
Interesting, I really hope he/she makes it through reentry, going through that kind of g-load with certain medical conditions could be fatal, really rooting for him/her.
How many are onboard? Is this the end of humanities current streak of continuous presence in orbit?
Floats ill (can’t fall in space)
Still no disclosure yet about who and even the presenting symptoms. (No one wants to diagnose remotely) As the spacewalk was called off for Cardman & Fincke, the subtext is that it’s one of the two of them. Because of age, it’s more likely Fincke, but I’m wildly speculating without any other data.
Crossing my fingers for the Plur1bus virus.
Man if we are going to get a space zombie virus it feels like this is the year for it.
the comments section has me in tears. I wanted the tea on which one and instead I got a good shared standup. 👏🏻 in all reality hope whichever one is sick is nothing too serious but I feel like this must be something pretty serious. They’ve been gone for months and now they’re sick…
This is like the start of some horror movie where astronauts come back with a cataclysmic alien infection.
Probably something like appendicitis
Welp, here comes the space COVID.
I wonder, is this the first time someone has gotten ill in space? Hoping for a full recovery.
I’ve seen enough movies to know we should not allow them back on Earth
legitimate question… how do you deal with a stuffy nose in space? Like…It won’t drip. I also imagine blowing your nose in space would leave ridiculous amount of particles everywhere.
Are you not allowed to go if you think you might get sick?? how does that work?
Welcome to Earth, Calvin! DM for a list of places to visit first.
Kidney stone maybe? It’s difficult to say, could really be anything. I’m glad they’re taking care of it though instead of pushing through.
This was a plot point in a book I liked (*Exo*, part of the *Jumper* series).
The main character is trying to build a private space company around her family’s unique skill and she saves an astronaut who was having a heart attack which leads to the US approving her company.
So like…. Appendicitis or Blocked Gallbladder?
The way this is worded makes it sound like one of them caught a virus or formed a bacterial infection. From what I’m seeing is that they aren’t saying what the issue is, but it’s not contagious and not an emergency, so it could very well be something like kidney stones or something else that isn’t necessarily what people would immediately consider when hearing the word “illness”. Headline really had me thinking one of them caught some virus in space and I was like “Don’t you dare bring them back to earth.”
I recently saw an interview with Jared Isaacman and for the first time(to my knowledge) he confirmed there have been cases where astronauts have had psychotic episodes in space that put the entire crew in danger, it even prompted NASA to put locks on the space shuttle hatches because an astronaut tried to open one in space. Russia also has had to deal with cosmonauts with psychotic episodes.
It has been well known there are procedures for restraining someone in space, of course duct tape is involved, and my understanding is they also keep tranquilizers to use in this type of situation. They can keep an astronaut sedated and restrained for a week plus if needed.
This makes me wonder if this could be the medical issue. Pure speculation of course and I would not even go there if this was not fresh in my head.
If it were something like appendicitis, then I would expect them to depart as soon as possible, though I do think the G forces upon re-entry and splashdown could pose a serious problem.
We will likely never know what the issue is unless the ill astronaut discloses their illness. The health and medical problems of astronauts are a closely guarded secret.
The fact they are still up there, tells me the issue is not life threatening but still serious enough to come back to Earth.
Is this how Pluribus begins on earth.
Is this space herpies, are they banging aliens without us
If movies have taught me anything bringing them home isn’t a good idea.
Why does this sound like the plot of a sci-fi horror movie?
I’ve seen this movie before…
This is going to be used as the start of a plot for an up coming “alien virus plagues earth” sort of film
Is this just what they are telling the public? I hope this astronaut makes it
Honestly, I think it is neat, not in a morbid way. We are going to get some practical science from this for future long-term missions, I assume.
I wanna know, when they leave the space station, does someone lock the door? Or do they just leave it unlocked and hope no one else will turn up and steal the TV?
What sort of neighborhood is it in?