NASA has spent the last few weeks getting ready for two spacewalks at the International Space Station (ISS), its first in eight months. But just hours before NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman were due to begin the first of the two walks on Thursday,

NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman are due to conduct the first spacewalk of 2026 outside the International Space Station. How to watch.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

NASA is postponing a spacewalk due to a "medical concern with a crew member" on the International Space Station. It did not say who was experiencing the issue, but the situation was stable.

Expedition 74 was ready for NASA’s first EVA on January 8th. Astronomers Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke were supposed to do routine microbial swabs and hardware QA photography alongside setting up the ISS for a new set of solar arrays. Ahead of the six-and-a-half-hour scheduled spacewalk, the event was canceled rather than postponed.

NASA officials provided updates on the postponement of a planned spacewalk after a medical concern involving a crew member.