Astronaut Mike Fincke medically evacuated from ISS after sudden loss of speech ability remains unexplained
American Space Commando and former US Air Force pilot, 52-year-old astronaut Commander Michael "Mike" Finckle was the first to be sent back down due to a medical emergency. He lost his voice while in space on March 17th but has not yet been able to explain why he suddenly fell ill or how it happened despite doctors' best efforts at diagnosis and treatment of this rare condition that is still considered mysterious by NASA's experts who are currently investigating the cause behind these symptoms which include difficulty speaking.
Key Points
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1NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke was medically evacuated from the ISS after experiencing a sudden, unexplained medical emergency on January 7.
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2During his illness at age six months in space (as per typical context for this event), he lost the ability to speak completely but retained other cognitive functions like thinking and moving around. This is consistent with 'locked-in' syndrome symptoms described by Fincke himself: "I was able to think, I could move my eyes..."
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3The cause of his sudden onset illness remains a mystery; doctors have not yet identified why he fell sick.
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4Fincke describes the incident as completely unexpected and amazingly quick while eating dinner on January 7.
Developments
Astronaut Mike Fincke confirmed on Friday that doctors have not yet determined why he suddenly became unable to speak and collapsed during a meal at the International Space Station in January. Although NASA has ruled out heart attacks, officials are still investigating potential links between his condition and 549 days of weightlessness while reviewing medical records from other astronauts for similar incidents.
Astronaut Mike Fincke suffered an unexplained 20-minute loss of speech on January 7 aboard the ISS before being evacuated early via SpaceX due to a suspected weightlessness-related illness that ruled out heart attack or choking causes, prompting NASA's review for similar incidents. He has since recovered fully and expressed hope to return to space despite regretting the disruption caused by his emergency evacuation alongside three other crewmates on January 15.
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke was medically evacuated from the International Space Station after suddenly losing the ability to speak during a 20-minute episode on January 7. Doctors have ruled out choking and heart attack but remain baffled by this first-ever medical evacuation, with investigations ongoing into potential links between his symptoms and weightlessness while NASA reviews records for similar incidents among other astronauts.