Astronaut’s Condition That Led to Space Station Evacuation Remains a Mystery
The New York Times • • science
Key Points:
- Astronaut Michael Fincke experienced a sudden and unexplained loss of speech during a January mission on the International Space Station, prompting an early evacuation back to Earth.
- Despite extensive testing, doctors have not determined the cause of Fincke's medical episode, ruling out heart attack and stroke, and suspecting it may be related to space conditions.
- The Crew-11 mission, which included astronauts from NASA, JAXA, and Roscosmos, was cut short after 167 days instead of the planned conclusion in February, marking the first early return due to a medical issue in the space station's 25-year history.
- Fincke described the incident as sudden and without pain, noting his crewmates responded quickly, and expressed disappointment about ending the mission early, feeling he let his team down.
- All Crew-11 astronauts underwent hospital evaluations after splashdown to ensure privacy and health, with NASA not immediately commenting on the incident.
