Astronauts say space station’s ultrasound machine was critical during medical crisis

Associated Press (AP)CenterEN 3 min read 100% complete by By MARCIA DUNNJanuary 22, 2026 at 08:23 AM

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Astronauts evacuated from the International Space Station (ISS) last week cited a portable ultrasound machine as critical during a recent medical crisis. The four-person crew, including astronauts from Roscosmos, NASA, and JAXA, returned to Earth on January 15, 2026, after NASA's first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight. The crew used the ultrasound machine after a medical problem arose on January 7, which led to the cancellation of a planned spacewalk. According to NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, the device was invaluable for diagnosing the issue, as it had already been used for routine health checks in space. Fincke advocated for the inclusion of ultrasound machines on all future spaceflights due to their usefulness in emergency situations.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. 40% Long Beach, California 40% SpaceX Dragon Endeavour 50% Roscosmos 60% Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 60% Oleg Platonov ×270% Zena Cardman 70% Kimiya Yui 70% Mike Fincke ×380% International Space Station ×390% NASA ×490%

Keywords

ultrasound machine 100% medical crisis 90% space station 80% astronauts 70% medical evacuation 60% nasa 50% spaceflight 50% weightlessness 40%

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Associated Press (AP)

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Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

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90%

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International Space Station

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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ultrasound machine medical crisis space station astronauts medical evacuation nasa spaceflight weightlessness

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