NASA is reportedly reviewing the medical information of its astronauts following an unusual incident that left one of them unable to speak while aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The incident, which occurred earlier this year, led to the first-ever evacuation of the ISS following a medical incident.
It was later revealed that 59-year-old Mike Fincke, a retired Air Force colonel and veteran astronaut who had served on multiple past missions, had been the crew member who experienced the condition that prompted the emergency action, although at that time, NASA officials had not revealed any further details about the nature of the medical concern.
Now, Fincke has revealed that on January 7, what began as a normal dinner break with his fellow crew members suddenly took an alarming turn when he found himself unable to speak.
“It was completely out of the blue,” Fincke recently told the Associated Press of the strange situation. “It was just amazingly quick.”
The crew had been in preparation for a planned spacewalk scheduled for the following day when the incident occurred. Although Fincke said he experienced no pain or other severe discomfort, the sudden onset of the mystery condition did cause alarm among other members of his crew, who immediately notified officials back on Earth about the situation.
“My crewmates definitely saw that I was in distress,” Fincke recalled of the situation. “It was all hands on deck within just a matter of seconds.”
For the next twenty minutes, Fincke said the odd condition persisted, which struck like a “very fast lightning bolt.” Gradually, his ability to speak returned, and Fincke said that he had never experienced anything like this in the past, nor since returning to Earth.
Although NASA did not reveal which astronaut had experienced the medical emergency, Fincke voluntarily came forward because of public speculation about what specifically caused the incident.
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