Astronaut’s medical issue scraps spacewalk, may need to return from ISS early

Astronauts
Astronaut sick FILE PHOTO: Left to right, Crew-11 members: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov; NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke; and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, walk out on their way to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. One of the astronauts on board the ISS is sick, forcing a scrub of a space walk and possible early return from the station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

NASA is debating whether or not to bring one of the astronauts on the International Space Station early because of a medical issue.

The agency did not give specifics of the medical problem or which astronaut it was, but did say the person was stable, The New York Times reported.

It is rare to end a mission early.

“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission,” NASA officials said, according to the Times. “These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely.”

An update is expected within 24 hours, CNN reported.

Commander Michael Fincke and flight manager Zena Cardman were supposed to participate in the spacewalk to upgrade the station’s power, the Times reported.

They, along with Kimiya Yui from Japan and Oleg Platonov from Russia, arrived on the ISS in August and were scheduled to stay for six months, CNN reported.

Part of the mission is to see how deep space travel affects a person’s health, especially how they process B vitamins and how body fluids are redistributed during months of weightlessness.

The next crew ISS is supposed to leave no earlier than Feb. 15, NASA said.

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