Photo: Jonathan Knowles/.Getty Images
A medical emergency aboard the International Space Station prompted the early return of NASA’s Crew-11 mission this month, offering a glimpse into how astronauts handle serious health events in orbit and underscoring the role of portable ultrasound technology availability in space.
Crew-11 members NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov declined to comment on which member experienced the medical emergency or the details of the situation, citing privacy, though they said ultrasound technology played a key role in handling the emergency.
"One of the things I remember from Expedition 9 is we just started working with ultrasound machines, and I think the ultrasound technology has gotten better on Planet Earth, and we've taken that into space," Commander Mike Fincke of NASA said during a press conference.
"Having a portable ultrasound machine helped us in this situation. We were able to take a look at things that we had and didn't have, and all of my crewmates, we got so much experience with ultrasound and looking at human bodies as we change over time as part of science and medicine. So, when we had this emergency, the ultrasound machine came in super handy."
The medical issue arose on Jan. 7, one day before Cardman was planning to make her first spacewalk, which was canceled due to the emergency.
Fincke said the crew did not have other large machines (i.e., MRI machines and CT scans) at the ISS that are available on Earth, and the ultrasound machine proved vital to the mission.
The commander recommended that a portable ultrasound machine be made available in the future for all space flights.
The astronauts splashed down off the coast of San Diego on Jan. 15 and spent the evening in a hospital for additional evaluation. NASA noted that the crew member affected is stable.
"How we handled everything all the way through, from nominal operations to this unforeseen operations, really bodes well for future exploration," Fincke said.
Yui added that the situation showed how training enabled the crew to be highly capable and prepared, proving that humans can handle any difficult situation.
"Of course, we came back early, but including this kind of decision, this is actually a very, very good experience for the future of human spaceflight," Yui said.
THE LARGER TREND
During the crew's 167-day mission, the astronauts aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft conducted scientific experiments, including examining their own bodies in spaceflight and performing stem cell research and a zero-boil-off test.
"Our stem cell research is just going to make things better. When you take gravity out of the equation, cells can reorganize themselves in some really amazing ways, especially with stem cells; they can be anything," Fincke said during the press conference.
"We're thinking that there is a nice future for not just the International Space Station, but for commercial space stations to help with medicines and actually human-grown organs and organelles that can really help people who are sick on the ground."
The astronauts said that, even though they came home about a month early, the research timeline would be only slightly affected, as things could be moved around and research is still in progress.
Crew-11's replacement crew was due to launch in mid-February, though NASA said it is working to move up the flight.
