NASA is weighing a drastic decision to bring its crew back from the International Space Station (ISS) sooner than expected due to a mysterious medical issue affecting one of its astronauts. The agency has put on hold plans for a scheduled spacewalk, originally set for Thursday, amid concerns over the astronaut's health.
According to NASA officials, the astronaut in question is currently stable, but the agency cannot disclose further details about the nature of their condition. The crew, including US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, has been on a six-to-eight-month rotation on the ISS since launching from Florida in August.
Fincke and Cardman were set to embark on a 6.5-hour spacewalk to install hardware outside the station as part of Crew-11's mission. Spacewalks are high-risk missions that demand months of training, bulky spacesuits, and intricate coordination with mission control. NASA astronauts typically keep their medical conditions private, but in rare cases, like when astronaut Mark Vande Hei called off his spacewalk due to a pinched nerve.
The agency has stated that the safety of its crew is paramount, and it's actively exploring all possible options, including an early termination of the Crew-11 mission. With the astronauts currently on board, NASA must now navigate this unexpected development and prioritize their health and well-being.
According to NASA officials, the astronaut in question is currently stable, but the agency cannot disclose further details about the nature of their condition. The crew, including US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, has been on a six-to-eight-month rotation on the ISS since launching from Florida in August.
Fincke and Cardman were set to embark on a 6.5-hour spacewalk to install hardware outside the station as part of Crew-11's mission. Spacewalks are high-risk missions that demand months of training, bulky spacesuits, and intricate coordination with mission control. NASA astronauts typically keep their medical conditions private, but in rare cases, like when astronaut Mark Vande Hei called off his spacewalk due to a pinched nerve.
The agency has stated that the safety of its crew is paramount, and it's actively exploring all possible options, including an early termination of the Crew-11 mission. With the astronauts currently on board, NASA must now navigate this unexpected development and prioritize their health and well-being.
but on the other hand, what's the point of sending them all the way to space if one person's gonna get sick? shouldn't they just do some research and figure out what's going on instead of putting everything on hold? 
. The fact that NASA can't disclose more info is even more concerning, like they're hiding something... but at the same time, maybe they just don't want to jinx the situation 
.
. Either way, my heart's going out to the astronaut who's dealing with this 
.
Spacewalks are already crazy risk, now they gotta put someone's life first? 
. The thought of those astronauts stuck in space for even longer is just... 
no thanks 
I mean, i feel bad for the astronaut who's not feeling well, but like, what if it spreads to the other crew members?? 
NASA has to be super careful right now. i've always been fascinated by spacewalks, they're so cool! 
but safety first, you know? 
I hope the astronaut recovers soon and they can get back to their mission plan. this is like a real-life movie drama, i'm glued to my screen 
. But in the end, I guess you can't put a price on human life (or astronaut lives 
). So, yeah, let's just hope everything goes smoothly and those astronauts get back to their space-rockets... er, I mean, routine 
I'm so worried about our astronaut mate 
. And yeah, I get it, safety first and all that, but it's like, a six-month rotation... can't we just wait a bit longer? 
It's gonna be so interesting to see what happens next 
The thing is, if the mission gets terminated early, that means all those months of training and preparation just went down the drain 
. And what about the other astronauts on board? Do they get to come home too or are they stuck up there for longer? 