Astronauts on board the International Space Station have been told to prepare for an emergency evacuation because of air leaks.
Nasa astronauts have been told to shelter in their spacecraft and get ready to leave the floating laboratory as their Russian counterparts try and fix a worsening air leak on their side, the space agency said.
The four astronauts on Nasa’s side of the space station were told on Monday morning local US time that they should enter the spacecraft docked to the station, and put on their spacesuits in case they are forced to leave, the space agency said.
At the same time, their Russian colleagues are attempting to fix a part of a service module transfer tunnel that is letting safe air out into space, Nasa said. The cracks that are causing the leak have long been a concern but Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has been working to patch them.
Follow below for the latest on the problem and astronauts’ attempts to fix it.
Cracks have ‘always been a concern’, Nasa spokesperson says
Here’s the full statement from Nasa spokesperson Bethany Stevens, which was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. She says that the cracks in the space station have “always been a concern” and that the Russian space agency is launching a “more extensive repair operation”.
“The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date. The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely,” she wrote. “NASA and Roscosmos have been working to determine the root cause of the cracks, and Roscosmos manages the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts. Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5.
“Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway. We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution.”
Andrew Griffin5 June 2026 15:15
Hello and welcome…
… to The Independent’s live coverage of urgent attempts to fix a leak on the International Space Station, which has forced Nasa to advise its astronauts to prepare for an emergency evacuation.
Andrew Griffin5 June 2026 15:13