NASA has announced that it plans to return several astronauts to Earth following a “medical concern” involving a crewmember aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The plans were announced by the space agency on January 8, following an initial announcement earlier in the week that revealed an unspecified medical issue was affecting one of the Crew-11 astronauts currently on board the station.
NASA officials have said they are currently working with commercial partner SpaceX and are aiming to evacuate the astronaut crew no earlier than 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 14, pending weather conditions.
“Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member,” the space agency said in a statement on Friday.
According to the NASA update, the agency’s American astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, will make their return via splashdown landing off the California coast shortly after 3:30 a.m. next Thursday, January 15.
“Mission managers continue monitoring conditions in the recovery area,” NASA officials said on Friday, “as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors.”
The American Space Agency says it will be providing real-time coverage of the evacuation beginning at approximately 3 p.m. on Wednesday, January 14, beginning with hatch closure, followed by undocking scheduled to begin at around 4:45 p.m.
Coverage will resume the following morning at 2:15 a.m. in advance of the SpaceX capsule’s deorbit and splashdown, currently scheduled for approximately 3:40 a.m. pending weather and other conditions.
Presently, NASA has provided few details about the nature of the medical concern or which crewmember has been affected.
An early media conference is scheduled for 5:45 a.m. later that morning, following the crew’s return to Earth, at which time NASA officials say they will share more details about the situation.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.