Britt Jones
NASA astronauts had to be hospitalized after spending over 200 days in space.
Four astronauts were sent for treatment and observation after returning to Earth via the SpaceX Dragon capsule.
The Crew-8 had been on the International Space Station (ISS) for months, when they finally touched down in Florida on October 25.
NASA went on to share that one astronaut received medical care following their return, but shortly afterwards, all members would then be sent to hospital.
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The 235-day mission had been a success, and so was the landing.
At the time of their arrival, everything apparently seemed fine, but then Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Alexander Grebenkin were taken to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola hospital in Florida to be evaluated.
Agency officials stated that this was done ‘out of an abundance of caution’ in a statement, according to Space.com.
While three astronauts were released on Friday and taken to Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, one crew member stayed overnight ‘as a precautionary measure’.
Thankfully, on Saturday, October 26, the last astronaut was released and was found to have been in ‘good health’.
NASA wrote in an emailed statement: “The crew member is in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members.”
NASA has yet to disclose why they needed to be evaluated.
They wrote in a blog post: “To protect the crew member's medical privacy, specific details on the individual’s condition and identity will not be shared.”
However, being in space for a long time can have negative impacts on the body.
Astronaut Frank Rubio first touched down back on solid ground in September 2023 after spending 371 days in space, the first of his kind.
Since then, the NASA medical team has studied him to make sure he acclimates to Earth.
This is because he finds things as easy as standing up and walking around a difficult task.
Because of the lack of gravity in space, his muscle mass decreased as it is not being used.
This is the same for bone density.
So, he needed to slowly get back to learning how to navigate life in a gravitational environment.
Dr Jennifer Fogarty – chief scientific officer at Baylor College of Medicine's Translational Research Institute for Space Health – told ABC News: "How do you coordinate movement like walking, which you haven't done for a long period of time, and then the idea of balance?
“When you put those two together, it can kind of create a little bit of a precarious situation and something that's very well-monitored with the crew members when they land on Earth.”
Perhaps the Crew-8 found they were experiencing similar things.
Regarding their safety, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel held a meeting on October 31, where former astronaut Kent Rominger shared the 'recent issues' with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft.
He reminded everyone that these issues were a sign to be vigilant in their attempts to expand their space efforts.
He said: “Both NASA and SpaceX need to maintain focus on safe Crew Dragon operations and not take any 'normal' operations for granted.”
UNILAD contacted NASA for comment.