NASA concern: Could pregnancy be the reason for an astronaut's emergency evacuation from the ISS

The American Space Agency announced the medical evacuation of one of the ISS crew members within the next two days. The identity of the victim and the reasons for the measures taken have not been named, but, according to some experts, the reason may be the pregnancy of astronaut Zena Cardman, an industry source told Izvestia. The same version is being discussed in chat rooms on specialized forums on social networks. At the same time, experts noted that for long-term space flights, when there is no way to return to Earth, medical care requires full autonomy and the presence of an on-board doctor.

Why did they decide to evacuate a NASA astronaut?

NASA has announced an emergency evacuation for medical reasons of one of the American ISS crew members. This is the first such case in the history of the station. This was announced by the head of the organization, Jared Isaacman, at an emergency press conference, which took place on January 9 at 1:00 Moscow time. The identity of the astronaut and the reasons for the evacuation were not disclosed by American specialists for ethical reasons and in accordance with the concepts of medical secrecy.

According to a statement by Jared Isaacman, the evacuation will be carried out within the next two days. This is more than a month ahead of schedule. According to a press conference, the decision to abort the mission was made due to a lack of medical equipment on board the station needed to provide assistance. NASA's chief medical officer, James Polk, said the victim is currently in stable condition.

As announced by American experts, the Crew-11 spacecraft will be used for evacuation. On August 2, 2025, Americans Zena Cardman, Edward Fink, Japanese Kimiya Yui and Russian Oleg Platonov flew to the ISS. They will return to Earth in the same composition. The Soyuz MS-28 crew will remain at the station. It includes Russians Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergey Mikaev and NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. They arrived at the station on November 27, 2025.

After the early return of the crew of Crew-11 to Earth, Christopher Williams will single-handedly support the operation of the American modules. According to the plans, the next crew to the ISS will leave on the Crew-12 spacecraft on February 15.

— Judging by open sources, it is difficult to guess the reason for the evacuation. There are about 40 medical packages on board the ISS. This includes emergency care, including defibrillators. There are also kits for the treatment of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, vascular system, etc. There are dental treatments. There are also surgical instruments, but they are designed for small manipulations," Arslan Niyazov, a doctor of aviation and space medicine, senior researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.

Also, he added, there is always one crew member with advanced medical training on board — a "medical officer." This is usually a NASA astronaut, as their training system allows for such certification. In general, the practice is to stop abnormal situations with the available means. However, if something serious occurs, early descent to Earth remains the main option.

— Two theories are currently being informally discussed as the main ones. According to one of them, Edward Fink fell ill. However, it is unknown what. And the second hypothesis suggests that Xena Cardman is pregnant. Judging by the faces of people at the NASA press conference, the second version seems to have a greater right to life," an industry source who wished to remain anonymous told Izvestia.

He stressed that the latest version is being actively discussed on American profile and industry forums and chat rooms on social networks.

— It is wrong to make specific assumptions until there is official information. This is a matter of medical secrecy and confidentiality. At the same time, it is important to understand that early or emergency return is required not because the diagnosis is unknown, but because in orbital conditions it is impossible to perform all the necessary amount of diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, if there is a risk, the correct solution is to stabilize the astronaut's condition and return to Earth for further examination and treatment," said Anastasia Lenkova, cosmonaut of the Republic of Belarus, pediatric surgeon, researcher at the N.N. Alexandrov Russian National Research Center for Oncology and Medical Radiology.

Most likely, she explained, a condition has arisen that cannot be reliably treated in orbital conditions and which requires advanced diagnosis or specialized treatment on Earth. In such situations, it may be a question of diseases, for example, of a cardiological, neurological or surgical profile, or of an atypical course of the disease with a risk of worsening.

Why won't telemedicine replace a doctor on board a spaceship

— From a historical point of view, "medical" evacuations are isolated cases. The most famous is the 20—day early return of cosmonauts Boris Volynov and Vitaly Zholobov from the Soyuz-5 space station in 1976," commented Pavel Gaiduk, cosmonautics historian, deputy head of the scientific and exposition department of the Museum of Cosmonautics.

It is difficult to say, he added, whether universal countermeasures against such cases exist in practice. The health of the crew should be carefully checked on the Ground. At the same time, reserve ships and crews must always be ready to fly in order to continue the program.

However, as Arslan Niyazov noted, it is necessary to understand that biological systems behave differently in space than on Earth. For example, it is unclear how microgravity will affect blood clotting or how anesthesia will affect the nervous system against the background of stress while in orbit.

— The development of technologies and infrastructure for medical care is one of the main challenges for future deep space missions. For example, an expedition to the moon can last eight days, but it is impossible to return a person ahead of schedule from such a flight. This imposes completely different requirements," Arslan Niyazov shared.

Such trips, he concluded, require a qualified doctor on board the ship and the absolute autonomy of the medical service, as well as new approaches to provide assistance without support from Earth.

— In order to "treat everything in space," we need a step-by-step development of medical and surgical techniques within the framework of scientific experiments. It is advisable to start such studies not with humans, but with biological models — isolated tissues and animals — in order to determine the limits of safety and reproducibility of surgical interventions in microgravity," added Anastasia Lenkova.

Interestingly, the specialist noted, Crew-11 has an astronaut with a scientific background in the field of medicine. This is Christopher Williams. As a research scientist, he works at the intersection of physics, biology and medical technology.

Such a profile, the expert emphasized, enhances the scientific expertise of the crew and is useful for interpreting biomedical data and interacting with ground doctors. However, it does not replace professional medical care, which is still provided through telemedicine support from Earth.