Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Astronaut Mike Fincke Details Sudden Loss of Speech That Prompted Early ISS Return

NASA is reviewing astronaut health records for similar cases to gauge risks from long stays in microgravity.

Overview

  • Fincke said he suddenly could not speak for about 20 minutes during dinner on January 7 aboard the International Space Station.
  • Doctors ruled out a stroke after his return to Earth, and he has had no repeat episodes, but the cause remains unknown.
  • NASA brought the four-person Crew-11 team home early to run MRI and other brain imaging that the station does not have.
  • The incident led NASA to cancel a planned spacewalk that would have been crewmate Zena Cardman’s first.
  • Mission schedules were reshuffled, including moving up the next crew launch that carried France’s Sophie Adenot to the station.