{"id":410623,"date":"2026-03-29T22:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T22:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/410623\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T22:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T22:42:32","slug":"why-did-mike-fincke-fall-ill-in-space-nasa-astronaut-reveals-sudden-speech-loss-on-iss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/410623\/","title":{"rendered":"Why did Mike Fincke fall ill in space? NASA astronaut reveals sudden speech loss on ISS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke has revealed new details about a mysterious medical episode that prompted the agency\u2019s first in-space evacuation<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred on January 7 aboard the International Space Station (ISS)<\/a>, when Fincke suddenly fell ill<\/a> while preparing for a scheduled spacewalk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was completely out of the blue. It was just amazingly quick,\u201d Fincke said in an interview from Houston\u2019s Johnson Space Center.<\/p>\n

\u2018All hands on deck\u2019 response<\/p>\n

Fincke described how the situation escalated within seconds, with his crewmates immediately recognising distress.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy crewmates definitely saw that I was in distress,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was all hands on deck within just a matter of seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recalled being unable to speak, though he felt no pain and has no memory of the episode itself. The incident lasted around 20 minutes before he recovered.<\/p>\n

Doctors still searching for answers<\/p>\n

Despite extensive testing, doctors have yet to determine the exact cause of the episode.<\/p>\n

Fincke said medical teams have ruled out a heart attack and confirmed he was not choking. However, other possibilities remain under investigation, including potential links to prolonged exposure to microgravity.<\/p>\n

The astronaut had spent 549 days in space across missions and was over five months into his latest stay when the episode struck \u201clike a very, very fast lightning bolt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Role of ISS medical systems<\/p>\n

The ISS\u2019s onboard medical capabilities played a crucial role during the emergency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fincke noted that the station\u2019s ultrasound machine was used during the incident, and he has undergone numerous follow-up tests since returning to Earth. NASA<\/a> is now reviewing medical data from other astronauts to identify any similar cases.<\/p>\n

Mission impact and early return<\/p>\n

The medical emergency forced the cancellation of a planned spacewalk\u2014one that would have been Fincke\u2019s 10th\u2014and led to an early return for the crew.<\/p>\n

SpaceX transported Fincke and his crewmates back to Earth on January 15, more than a month ahead of schedule. Upon landing, they were taken directly to a hospital for evaluation.<\/p>\n

Fincke expressed regret over the disruption, particularly for fellow astronaut Zena Cardman, who missed out on her first spacewalk.<\/p>\n

Privacy and ongoing investigation<\/p>\n

Fincke said he cannot share further medical details, emphasising NASA\u2019s commitment to astronaut privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe space agency wants to make sure that other astronauts do not feel that their medical privacy will be compromised,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

NASA<\/a> continues to investigate the case, analysing historical astronaut health data to determine whether similar unexplained episodes have occurred in orbit.<\/p>\n

\u2018This was space, not you\u2019<\/p>\n

The astronaut admitted he initially felt responsible for the disruption caused by his illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been very lucky to be super healthy. So this was very surprising for everyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, colleagues\u2014including NASA administrator Jared Isaacman<\/a>\u2014encouraged him to stop blaming himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis wasn\u2019t you. This was space, right?\u201d they told him. \u201cYou didn\u2019t let anybody down.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rare reminder of space risks<\/p>\n

The unexplained incident highlights the unpredictable health risks astronauts face in space, even for seasoned veterans like Fincke.<\/p>\n

While he has since recovered and feels healthy, the case remains unresolved\u2014offering a rare glimpse into the medical uncertainties of long-duration spaceflight.<\/p>\n

Also Read<\/strong> | Artemis 2 food menu spiced up with 189 items: What will NASA astronauts eat?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke has revealed new details about a mysterious medical episode that prompted the agency\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[77],"tags":[185058,18,19,9128,185056,17,185055,185053,10579,65282,26612,185059,185054,185057,133,45981,185060],"class_list":["post-410623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-astronaut-health-in-space","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-international-space-station","tag-international-space-station-incident","tag-ireland","tag-iss-medical-emergency","tag-medical-episode","tag-microgravity","tag-mike-fincke","tag-nasa-astronaut","tag-nasa-astronaut-evacuation","tag-nasa-astronaut-illness","tag-nasa-in-space-evacuation","tag-science","tag-spacewalk","tag-why-did-mike-fincke-fall-ill-in-space"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116314881631509093","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}