Astronauts on ISS prepare for potential evacuation over air leak as NASA issues statement

Astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) are preparing for a potential evacuation following an air leak.

NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said in a statement: "The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date.

"The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely. NASA and Roscosmos have been working to determine the root cause of the cracks, and Roscosmos manages the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts.

"Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5. Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency's SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway.

"We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution."

NASA and Russia's space agency Roscosmos are the ISS' primary operators and have had to deal with numerous air leaks in recent months.

They have been locked in discussions for a while on how to deal with these leaks, and recent revelations make it clear a fix is required urgently.

As per CBC, a senior NASA official said that previous air leaks of a pound a day were seen as 'minor', but that has since increased to two pounds.