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NASA's Fincke Says Mystery Space Illness Still Unexplained
Fincke lost speech for 20 minutes during a mission cut short by NASA's first medical evacuation; doctors ruled out heart attack and choking but cause remains unknown.
- On Jan. 7, 2026, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke suddenly lost his ability to speak for roughly 20 minutes while eating dinner aboard the International Space Station, prompting crewmates to immediately contact flight surgeons on the ground.
- The incident triggered NASA's first medical evacuation in 25 years of continuous station occupation, leading the crew to return on Jan. 15, 2026, via SpaceX Crew Dragon to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla in California.
- NASA utilized the station's ultrasound machine during the emergency, and doctors have ruled out a heart attack and choking, though Fincke described the sudden episode as striking like "a very, very fast lightning bolt."
- Fincke publicly identified himself last month to end speculation, withholding specific medical details to protect future astronauts' privacy—a stance NASA administrator Jared Isaacman endorsed, telling him, "You didn't let anybody down."
- This unprecedented event exposes critical gaps in onboard medical diagnostics, highlighting significant risks for future long-duration deep-space missions under NASA's Artemis program as the agency reviews monitoring protocols and astronaut medical records.
138 Articles
138 Articles
The astronaut who took NASA's first medical evacuation this year said that doctors still don't know why he died suddenly at the International Space Station. Unexpected episode during dinner The astronaut...
American astronaut Mike Fincke broke the silence on the mysterious medical incident that had led to the evacuation of the ISS crew last January. Victim of a sudden aphasia while he was dining in a...
Earlier this year, Mike Fincke was forced to return early from the ISS space station after becoming unwell.
Mike Fincke, the first astronaut to be evacuated from space for medical reasons, was suddenly unable to speak for a while. He said this in an interview with the AP news agency. How exactly that could have happened is still unclear. "It happened out of nowhere."
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