Spaceflight veteran Mike Fincke has identified himself as the astronaut whose illness prompted NASA's first ever medical evacuation.
In a written statement, the 58-year-old crew member revealed he was the ailing astronaut aboard the International Space Station last month.
Here is what we know.
What happened?
NASA astronaut Edward "Mike" Fincke piloted the SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station on August 1, 2025.
While aboard the space station, he served as an Expedition 73/74 flight engineer and commander.
The mission was due to end in February of this year.
During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew conducted new research to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit humanity on Earth," SpaceX said.
But the mission came to an end a month early after Mr Fincke experienced a medical event.
It forced the cancellation of a planned spacewalk by Mr Fincke and another astronaut.
ON January 8, NASA announced the early end of the mission due to a medical event and Crew-11 returned to Earth on January 15.
At the time, the space agency did not reveal who was ill.
This week, Mr Fincke revealed it was him.
What was Mike Fincke's illness?
The astronaut did not actually reveal what he was suffering from.
He described it as "a medical event that required immediate attention".
Mr Fincke said at an earlier news conference before revealing it was him who was sick, that the space station's ultrasound machine came in handy during the medical crisis.
He elaborated on Wednesday, stressing that his situation was not an emergency but that everyone wanted "to take advantage of advanced medical imaging not available on the space station."
He said after receiving attention from surgeons at hospital, he is now doing well.
“Spaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are,” he said in a statement.
Has NASA carried out a mission like this before?
NASA has never had to medically evacuate an astronaut from the International Space Station before.
The ISS is equipped to deal with certain medical emergencies and all astronauts have medical training.
Each crew also has a Crew Medical officer which can sometimes be a doctor or someone with advanced training.
They are in regular contact with doctors on the ground and NASA has a robust pharmacy and a suite of medical equipment onboard to the space station to treat various conditions and injuries.
Astronauts undergo rigorous screening before selection for missions.
A 2015 study published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal, found that medication use on the ISS was quite low with roughly 10 doses of non-prescription medication taken per astronaut per week.
But space travel does take a toll on the body with astronauts commonly experiencing skin irritation, congestion, headaches and musculoskeletal injuries.
