A crew of four aboard the International Space Station will return to Earth several weeks ahead of schedule due to a medical emergency.
NASA confirmed last week that a serious medical condition was affecting one of the four members of the current ISS crew rotation. It has not released more details due to medical privacy, but said the crew member is now in a stable condition.
At a press conference confirming the emergency return, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the there was no capability on the ISS to treat the crew member’s condition, forcing his hand to return the group early.
It is the first time such action has been taken in the station’s almost 30-year history.
The crew consists of US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Finke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
They will depart the ISS aboard their SpaceX Dragon crew module on Wednesday at 5:00 pm EST. NASA anticipates a splashdown off the California coast at around 3:40am on Thursday.
Another three-person crew also conducting work on the ISS will remain aboard. The next SpaceX crew rotation was originally due to launch on February 15 at the earliest. NASA said it was now working with SpaceX to bring that date forward.
Edited by: Carla Bleiker
