NASA makes 'unprecedented' call to bring astronauts home after illness, expert says: 'Evacuated from orbit'

NASA has made an "unprecedented" decision to bring a crew home early from the International Space Station after a medical emergency in orbit, marking the first time in the station’s 25-year history that a mission has been cut short for health reasons.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Thursday that a single crew member experienced a medical situation aboard the station on Jan. 7 and is now stable. After consultations with medical and agency leadership, he ordered the early return of the crew.

"For over 60 years, NASA has set the standard for safety and security in crewed space flight," Isaacman said during a news conference Thursday. "The health and the well-being of our astronauts is always and will be our highest priority."

NASA ADMINISTRATOR ORDERS EARLY RETURN OF 4 CREW-11 ASTRONAUTS FOLLOWING MEDICAL EMERGENCY

Isaacman said the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft would bring Crew-11 back to Earth within the coming days, ahead of their planned return later this year. The crew arrived at the ISS in August and was set to spend six to eight months there.

The crew includes Commander Zena Cardman, pilot Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

NASA WEIGHS CUTTING SHORT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION MISSION DUE TO ASTRONAUT MEDICAL ISSUE

Space historian and NASA expert Rod Pyle said the decision represents a historic first in U.S. human spaceflight.

"The declaration of a medical emergency in space is unprecedented, certainly in the operation of the International Space Station, which has been crewed continuously for 25 years," Pyle said. "They did have one notable medical emergency, in the past, when an astronaut suffered deep vein thrombosis, but they were able to actually stabilize that in orbit and continue on the mission."

"This is the first time in the history of the ISS. And as far as I remember, the first time in the history of the American space program, where somebody had to be brought home early, in effect, evacuated from orbit."

Pyle, who worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Johnson Space Center, lauded Isaacman's decision to return to come back to Earth, while discussing the research implications.

"The ripple effects of this are pretty significant. Certainly, they're nothing as serious as having a life-threatening medical issue," he said. "So it's the right decision for them to come home. And I think we're all happy that Jared Isaacman was in the seat to make that decision as the new NASA administrator. I think he handled this very well."

Pyle explained that nearly half the astronauts' time on the ISS is spent on research and daily activity, while the other time is spent on maintenance and repair due to the space station's condition.

"Now some of that load will probably be handed off to the astronauts that remain behind. That'll be three of them. But this does throw a bit of a ripple into the works. And what's kind of critical about that, this would be important at any time, but we don't have a lot of time left with the International Space Station as it is being de-orbited in 2030. It remains to be seen how quickly the private companies will be replacing it."