NASA's Mike Finck revealed that doctors have not yet determined the cause of his sudden loss of speech during his mission on the International Space Station (ISS) in January, which prompted an unprecedented evacuation to Earth. During an interview, Finck, who has traveled to space four times, recounted the details of the incident that occurred while he was having dinner on January 7. He suddenly lost his ability to speak without any warning and did not feel pain, but his colleagues noticed his difficult condition, prompting them to immediately seek help from doctors on Earth. Finck, who is 59 years old, told the Associated Press: "It happened suddenly and with amazing speed." He added that the episode lasted about 20 minutes, after which he felt better and was fine. Finck noted that doctors ruled out a heart attack or suffocation, but all other possibilities are still under investigation and may be related to weightlessness, especially since Finck has spent long periods in space throughout his 549-day career, and this crisis occurred after five and a half months on the station. Finck said his six colleagues immediately surrounded him: "They saw that I was in a serious condition, and everyone acted in a matter of seconds." Finck explained that he cannot disclose more details because NASA wants to maintain the privacy of astronauts' medical information. He mentioned that the ultrasound machine on the station was useful at the time, and after returning to Earth, he underwent numerous tests, and NASA is reviewing the records of other astronauts to see if similar cases have occurred in space before. The incident led to the cancellation of his mission and the early return of him and three of his colleagues to Earth more than a month ahead of schedule. Despite his regret over the mission's cancellation, NASA officials and his colleagues reassured him that he was not to blame for what happened and confirmed that he is in good health and hopes to return to space in the future.
