Kathmandu – NASA has decided to return four astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth for the first time in history, following the need for medical care. Three crew members, including one sick astronaut, departed from the ISS on Wednesday.
Four astronauts from the US, Russia and Japan are aiming to make a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on Thursday morning in a SpaceX capsule. NASA said the decision has shortened their mission by more than a month.
“It was inspiring to see this crew come together as a family, taking care of each other, even though our departure time was unexpected,” NASA astronaut Jenna Cardman said before the return trip.
Officials said they were not releasing the identities and health conditions of the sick astronauts due to medical confidentiality. However, outgoing station commander Mike Finke said on social media that the astronaut was “stable, safe and well cared for.” He said the decision was made because it would be more appropriate to conduct a comprehensive medical evaluation on Earth.
Cardman, Finke, Japan’s Kimiya Yue and Russia’s Oleg Platonov, who launched in August, were scheduled to remain on the station until the end of February. But on January 7, NASA abruptly canceled the spacewalk and announced that the crew would return early. NASA has clarified that the health issue is not an emergency and is not related to station operations.
NASA said that SpaceX’s regular entry and splashdown procedures will be followed and that a medical team will be on standby on the recovery ship in the Pacific Ocean. The schedule for the four astronauts to be transported from California to the Johnson Space Center in Houston after landing has not yet been set.
One American and two Russian astronauts will remain on the ISS. NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch a new four-member crew from Florida in mid-February.
Although computer modeling has shown that medical evacuations could be required every three years, it is the first time NASA has taken such a step in its 65-year history of human spaceflight. In 1985, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin returned early from the Salyut-7 station due to health problems.
The medical evacuation is the first major decision of NASA’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman. Announcing the decision, he said, “The health and well-being of our astronauts will always be our highest priority.” Agency(Edited)Restore original
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