NASA reveals the astronaut who required 1st medical evacuation from the International Space Station

NASA has shed more light on last month's early end to SpaceX's Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), at the request of the astronaut who experienced the medical issue that caused their return.

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew-11 pilot and commander of the ISS' Expedition 74, has revealed that it was his medical issue that prompted the evacuation of the four Crew-11 astronauts from the space station in January.

"I experienced a medical event that required immediate attention from my incredible crewmates," Fincke said in a statement published by NASA today (Feb. 25).

The exact nature of his ailment remains undisclosed, but Fincke's statement clarified that the issue, while not considered an emergency, required "advanced medical imaging not available on the space station." As a result, Fincke and his crewmates — NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, Japanese space agency astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov — returned to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon "Endeavour" on Jan. 15, about a month earlier than originally planned.

The issue arose on Jan. 7, while Fincke and Cardman were preparing for an upcoming spacewalk. "The agency is monitoring a medical concern with a crew member that arose Wednesday afternoon aboard the orbital complex," NASA officials said in an emailed statement on Jan. 7, declining to elaborate on the nature of that concern or the astronaut it affected. Then, onn Jan. 8, the agency announced that Crew-11 would end early so the issue could be addressed here on Earth.

Crew-11 splashed down aboard Endeavour in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego, on Jan. 15, leaving a skeleton crew of three aboard the ISS. That trio was NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev, who were left to execute research tasks as needed and maintain the orbital lab while NASA worked to accelerate the launch of Crew-11's replacements.

SpaceX's Crew-12 mission was originally slated to launch in mid-February, with a typical handover period between them and Crew-11 expected after their arrival in low Earth orbit, allowing the newcomers time to acclimate to microgravity and life aboard the station. Efforts by SpaceX and NASA allowed for an earlier target date of their Falcon 9 launch aboard Crew Dragon "Freedom," which lifted off Feb. 13 and returned the ISS to its regular crew complement of seven.

After Fincke and his crewmates splashed down on Jan. 15, each was recovered from Endeavour and wheeled away on a stretcher. The astronauts were taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla near San Diego, whose medical staff Fincked thanked along with his crewmates, NASA and SpaceX in his statement. "Their professionalism and dedication ensured a positive outcome," he said.

Fincke indicated that he is doing well and is continuing routine post-flight conditioning at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "Spaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are," he said.