Astronauts after an emergency return to Earth have told how ultrasound helped them quickly assess a problem in an environment where there is no "big" diagnostic available

Astronauts who were evacuated early from the International Space Station last week said that a portable ultrasound machine proved to be the most useful tool during a sudden medical episode in orbit.

As AP writes, it was the ultrasound that helped the team quickly navigate a situation where the station does not have access to familiar "ground-based" examination equipment.

This was the first medical return of the crew early in 65 years of NASA manned missions. At the first public meeting after landing, the four crew members - Mike Finke and Zena Cardman (NASA), Kimiya Yui (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos) - declined to specify exactly who needed help and for what reason, citing privacy.

According to Finke, the medical problem manifested itself on Jan. 7, a day before a planned spacewalk that was eventually cancelled. The crew had regularly used ultrasound before for routine body condition checks in weightlessness, so at the critical moment the device was "at hand" and already familiar in operation. The astronaut emphasised that such a device should be included in the equipment of all future manned missions, because it really helps in emergency situations.

Cardman, who commanded the early return on the SpaceX craft, noted that the station is as prepared for emergencies as it can be, and she believes the decision to de-prioritise the spacewalk and focus on crew safety was the right one. Yui added that he was impressed with how well the pre-flight training worked: he said the training really allows them to act calmly even in the face of unexpected complications.

The crew spent about 5.5 months in orbit (the mission ended more than a month ahead of schedule) and landed on January 15 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on a SpaceX Dragon Endeavour capsule. The astronauts have since been taken for evaluation, and NASA and SpaceX are discussing the possibility of speeding up the launch of the shift to get the ISS back to full strength sooner.