NASA has officially revealed details regarding an incident aboard the international space station (ISS) that prompted a historic evacuation in 25 years due to a medical emergency.
On January 7, the space agency released a statement, which read, astronaut Mike Fincke, "experienced a medical event that required immediate attention from my incredible crewmates."
"Thanks to the quick response and the guidance of our NASA flight surgeons, my status quickly stabilised", the astronaut stated.
To tackle the situation, NASA immediately decided to evacuate the Crew-11 from the ISS to treat Mr Fincke and provide him medical attention which was inaccessible on the ISS.
Mr Fincke stated, "[It was] not an emergency but a carefully coordinated plan."
The crew, which also included fellow NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, splashed down on 15 January after spending five and a half months on the space station.
The other three members of the crew, including fellow NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, touched down on the Earth on January 15 after over five months on the space stations.
Mr Fincke has expressed gratitude for his crew, NASA and SpaceX's team and medical professionals, stating he is doing "very well and continuing standard post-flight reconditioning" at NASA's base in Houston.
"Spaceflight is an incredible privilege and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are," he added.
Following the crew’s return to Earth in January, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman stated it was a "serious situation" in orbit; however, the condition is under control.
The evacuation left only three crew members on board the space station, which were joined by four new astronauts in February and normal service has started.
