Space, NASA: ISS crew returns early due to medical issue

New York (USA), Jan. 9 (LaPresse) – NASA has decided to bring forward the return of a mission aboard the International Space Station after an astronaut experienced a medical issue. The space agency said that the four-member crew will return to Earth in the coming days, earlier than planned. NASA has also canceled its first spacewalk of the year due to the health problem. The agency did not identify either the astronaut or the nature of the medical issue, citing patient privacy. The crew member is now in stable condition. NASA officials stressed that it was not an onboard emergency, but that they are “acting with an abundance of caution for the crew member,” said Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer. The four-person crew returning to Earth had arrived at the orbiting laboratory in August aboard a SpaceX capsule, for a stay of at least six months. The group included NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Fincke and Cardman were scheduled to carry out the spacewalk to prepare for the future installation of solar panels intended to provide additional power to the station.