NASA astronauts make first public appearance after emergency medical evacuation

The astronauts who were evacuated from the International Space Station last week have spoken publicly for the first time about their emergency medical evacuation. It was NASA's first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight. NASA's Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan's Kimiya Yui and Russia's Oleg Platonov. Speaking to the media on Thursday (22 January), Fincke said the ultrasound machine on board “came in super handy.” “ I'd recommend a portable ultrasound machine in the future for all space flights. It really helped,” he added. The astronauts did not say which of them needed medical attention or for what reason.