NASA Announces Historic Space Station Evacuation Amid 'Serious' Issue

For the first time in the 25-year history of the International Space Station, NASA will be forced to make an emergency evacuation.

On Thursday, NASA officially announced that it will remove the crew from the space station in the coming days in an emergency evacuation after one astronaut fell ill with a "serious" medical issue.

NASA Announces Evacuation

On Thursday, NASA made the historic announcement that, for the first time in history, the International Space Station will be evacuated after one of the astronauts fell ill with what NASA described as a "serious," but undisclosed medical condition.

“After discussions with chief health and medical officer Dr. James Polk and leadership across the agency, I’ve come to the decision that it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, said at a briefing on Thursday.

Due to patient privacy concerns, NASA did not identify the astronaut or the illness. However, the agency did make it clear that it was a "serious" situation that led to this unprecedented decision.

“This was a serious medical condition,” Isaacman said. “That is why we’re pursuing this path.”

When Will the Evacuation Happen?

NASA announced on social media this week that the evacuation will take place " no earlier" than 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 14, with the goal of them landing near California early on Thursday morning, Jan. 15. However, NASA acknowledged that this plan is a bit in flux “depending on weather and recovery conditions.”

While it is a serious medical concern that merits an evacuation, NASA's chief health and medical officer, Dr. James Polk, explained that the astronaut is "absolutely stable," allowing a little more flexibility with timing.

“Because the astronaut is absolutely stable, this is not an emergent evacuation,” Polk said. “We’re not immediately disembarking and getting the astronaut down, but it leaves that lingering risk and lingering question as to what that diagnosis is, and that means there is some lingering risk for that astronaut onboard.”

Crew-11, which is led by U.S. commander Zena Cardman, arrived at the space station on a SpaceX capsule in August. The group includes NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

While that group will be evacuated from the International Space Station next week, U.S. astronaut Chris Williams and Russia’s Sergei Mikayev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov will continue living and working at the station.