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NASA postponed a spacewalk this week after one of its astronauts suffered a pinched nerve while working at the International Space Station.
NASA’s Expedition 65 flight engineer Mike Vande Hei was scheduled to perform a 6.5-hour spacewalk with Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) today ( August 24), but NASA canceled the outing with less than 24 hours notice. Monday (August 23), citing a “minor medical issue involving Vande Hei”.
“Thank you for everyone’s concern. I have a nerve stuck in my neck that made us postpone today’s spacewalk,” Vande Hei tweeted today. “The support from family, friends and NASA executives has been fantastic. I can’t wait to install this IRosa mod kit. Today just wasn’t a good day.”
Related: An astronaut has had a blood clot in space. Here’s how the doctors on Earth fixed it.
Today’s spacewalk was not urgent and Vande Hei’s pinched nerve was not considered a medical emergency, NASA officials said in a statement. Vande Hei and Hoshide were to continue the work in progress to install the The International Space Station Deployment Solar Grid, or iROSA, which will help strengthen the station’s electrical grid.
Pinched nerves can occur when pressure in the tissues around a nerve disrupts its normal functions, which can cause pain as well as tingling, numbness and weakness sensations, according to the Mayo Clinic. “With rest and other conservative treatments, most people recover from a pinched nerve within days or weeks,” although patients sometimes need surgery, the Mayo Clinic added.
NASA has yet to announce a new date for the spacewalk, but it will only happen after a pair of upcoming Russian spacewalks on September 3-9 and the arrival of the spacecraft. SpaceX’s Dragon space cargo ship, currently scheduled for release August 28. NASA officials said.
Vande Hei arrived at the International Space Station in April with cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrovnik, flying on the Russian Soyuz MS-18 capsule, and he could spend up to a year in the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth.
Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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