UPDATE 1-NASA considers rare early ISS crew return due to astronaut’s medical issue

NASA is considering a ‌rare early return of an astronaut and its crew from the ⁠International Space Station (ISS) over an unspecified medical issue, hours after cancelling a planned spacewalk that had been ​scheduled for Thursday, the agency said.

A NASA spokeswoman ‍said the astronaut, who she did not identify out of medical privacy, was in a stable condition on the ⁠orbiting ‌laboratory. "Safely ⁠conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are ‍actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an ​earlier end to Crew-11’s mission," the spokeswoman said ⁠in a statement on Wednesday night.

Returning the four-person ⁠Crew-11 crew would be a rare consequence of a medical issue aboard the ISS, ⁠where astronauts typically live in six to eight-month rotations with ⁠access ‌to basic medical equipment and medications for some types of emergencies.

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