International Space Station astronauts in evacuation mode as Russia attempts to fix widening air leak

WASHINGTON - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station were ordered by NASA to shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for potential evacuation on Friday as a Russian crew attempts to fix a worsening leak of air on its portion of the orbital laboratory, NASA said.

The four astronauts of NASA's Crew-12 mission on the station - two U.S. astronauts, a French astronaut and Russian cosmonaut - got orders from NASA mission control at 9:04 a.m. ET Monday to enter their Crew Dragon spacecraft docked to the station and don their spacesuits in case the air leak warrants an emergency evacuation, a NASA official said.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 7:08 AM.