NASA revokes evacuation alert for astronauts on Space Station

NASA revoked the preventive evacuation order issued to astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) after reassessing, together with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, the risks related to an air leak in the Russian Zvezda module.

The measure had been adopted this Friday (5), when five astronauts were instructed to take shelter in SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which remains attached to the station. According to NASA, the team may need to leave the ISS if the situation worsens.

The astronauts of the Crew-12 mission - two Americans, a French woman and a Russian cosmonaut - as well as another astronaut from the United States, received the order at 9:04 am (Eastern Time), according to agency spokeswoman Bethany Stevens.

The alert was issued after the worsening of an air leak in the Russian segment of the space station. While Roscosmos technicians tried to locate and repair a crack in the Zvezda module, NASA ordered a precautionary shelter protocol.

NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, responsible for operating the ISS, have been discussing for months the causes and possible solutions for small leaks recorded in the Zvezda service module, a fundamental structure of the station's Russian segment.

Also this Friday, Roscosmos reported having detected two air leaks on the ISS. According to the agency, one of them was quickly sealed, while preparations to repair the second were underway. Russia also stated that there is no immediate threat to the station's crew or systems.

According to a senior NASA official interviewed by Reuters on condition of anonymity, the rate of air loss increased this Friday, going from around 0.45 kilograms per day to approximately 0.9 kilograms per day, which raised the concern of the mission control teams.

ISS Astronauts
Currently, the ISS is home to seven astronauts. Among them are the members of Crew-12: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who arrived at the station in February.

See images of the Crew-12 astronauts:

https://admin.cnnbrasil.com.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2026/06/202606051212.mp4

The other three occupants are American astronaut Christopher Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, who arrived at the orbiting laboratory in November.

Kud-Sverchkov and Mikayev planned to use a saw to open access to an area where they believed the crack responsible for the leak was located. The proposal generated disagreement with NASA, which did not agree with the repair method and, given the situation, determined the preventive shelter protocol for astronauts.

Bethany Stevens said the order was canceled after Roscosmos temporarily suspended repair work. "We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to resolve the leaks," he said.

Precautionary shelter orders are rare in the history of the International Space Station. Although space debris and changes in internal pressure have led to the adoption of this protocol on other occasions, astronauts have never needed to evacuate the ISS in its 27 years of continuous operation.

Source: CNN