NASA astronauts prepared for possible evacuation due to leak in the Russian segment of the International Space Station

Updated. The astronauts returned to normal work, and Roscosmos suspended planned repairs to conduct additional analysis of the data and measurements obtained, NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens said . In this regard, NASA ordered the crew on the Dragon spacecraft to stop sheltering as a precaution.

The American aerospace agency NASA has notified astronauts aboard the International Space Station that they need to take shelter inside the spacecraft and prepare for a possible evacuation due to a leak in the Russian segment of the ISS.

According to NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens, there have been cracks and leaks in the transfer compartment of the Zvezda module of the Russian segment “for some time now,” which Roscosmos is “fixing as best we can.” On June 5, Roscosmos decided to carry out a “larger repair operation” after new leaks were discovered, she said.

In this regard, NASA, for the purpose of “maximum precaution,” ordered all four crew members of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission and American astronaut Chris Williams to go into “high alert evacuation mode” inside the Crew Dragon ship docked to the station.

The four crew members of the Crew-12 mission include two Americans, a Frenchman and a Russian, Reuters clarifies. According to a senior NASA official, the leak rate increased on June 1, with air loss increasing from about one pound per day to two pounds per day (that is, from about 450 grams to 900 grams).

Roscosmos said that the detected air leaks do not threaten the safety of the crew, and the pressure on board is “stable and maintained at the design level.”