ISS Crew-11 closes hatch ahead of early return to Earth due to medical issue

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 on Wednesday closed the hatch of the Dragon Endeavour as they prepared to return to Earth from the International Space Station due to a medical issue.

Last week, NASA announced that a "serious medical condition" with a crew member aboard the ISS lead to the decision of bringing the astronaut and three crewmates back to Earth months earlier than planned, the first such emergency return in the orbiting laboratory's 25-year history.

The NASA officials did not identify which of the Crew-11 mission's four astronauts was experiencing the medical issue or describe its nature, citing the crew member's privacy.

The crew includes US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. They have been on the space station since launching from Florida in August and were scheduled to return around May this year.

NASA's astronaut corps regards medical situations on the ISS as closely held secrets, and astronauts rarely acknowledge or describe publicly their medical conditions.

NASA TV / REUTERS

Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe

Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net

Follow us:
Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook
Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram
Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter
DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion

Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital

Check out our Podcasts:
Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify
Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts
Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic
Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer
Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein