NASA has ordered astronauts to prepare for evacuation from the International Space Station (ISS) over 'worsening air leaks'.
The space agency told astronauts to shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for potential evacuation on Friday as a Russian crew attempts to fix a worsening leak.
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.
The crew were told to don their spacesuits in case the air leak warrants an emergency evacuation, a NASA official said.
NASA has confirmed that the orbital lab was leaking air from a Russian module that has suffered similar problems since 2019.
Bethany Stevens, NASA press secretary, said in a statement on X: '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.'
Ms Stevens added: '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.'
NASA has ordered astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to take shelter over 'worsening air leaks'
NASA has a plan in place for an emergency evacuation of the ISS and it could be used amid cracks and leaks on the ship
The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel is a pressurized cylindrical passageway in the rear of the Russian part of the station.
Its function is to connect the Zvezda's main living quarters with the docking port where cargo is brought aboard the ISS.
While the module arrived in space in 2020, some parts of this section were constructed in the 1980s and have been a site of worsening leaks for years.
A leak has been ongoing since 2019 when air began escaping from the module's transfer tunnel.
This new leak, detected on May 1, is allowing roughly one pound of air to escape into space each day - about the weight of a loaf of bread.
NASA previously said the affected module was being maintained at a lower pressure and could be periodically repressurized as needed.
However, the issue has become so serious that NASA has reportedly ranked it among the highest-risk challenges facing the station, with the possibility of a 'catastrophic failure' discussed during internal meetings.