Detail about the medical issue was not disclosed for privacy reasons.

The Crew-11 astronauts were scheduled to stay on the ISS for about six months until late January to early February 2026.

The Crew-11 mission saw astronauts, including Koichi Wakata, dock with the ISS on August 2, 2025.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata is among the four astronauts returning to Earth from the ISS.

NASA announced that the Crew-11 mission will return four astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth within a few days.

This is the first time an astronaut will return to Earth from the ISS for health reasons.

The specific mission theme for Suwa's ISS stay will be decided later, but he has chosen 'connecting' as a keyword, representing connections among astronauts, between Earth and space, and among countries.

Starting in November 2024, Suwa began pre-assignment training at NASA's Johnson Space Center, including extravehicular activities and robotic arm operations.

Suwa expressed surprise and humility about receiving such an opportunity three years after facing his final astronaut selection test.

Suwa noted that the final mission theme may not relate at all to 'connecting' due to the flight being a year away.

This will be Makoto Suwa's first stay at the ISS.

Suwa was informed of his long-term stay at the ISS in December 2025.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that astronaut Makoto Suwa will stay at the International Space Station (ISS) for an extended period around 2027.

Suwa will transition to assignment training based in NASA's Johnson Space Center moving forward.

Suwa will be the eighth Japanese to participate in long-term stays at the ISS and will be on his 15th mission overall.

Suwa expects to individually train on ISS system operations and tasks related to space experiments as his boarding time approaches.

After being certified as an astronaut, the duration until Suwa was assigned to the ISS flight was just 1 year and 3 months, which is among the shortest periods for active Japanese astronauts alongside Koichi Wakata.

The spacecraft that Suwa will board is yet to be determined, but training will begin as soon as it is decided.

Yasushi Kuru, head of the astronaut operations technology unit in JAXA's Human Spaceflight Technology Division, stated that Suwa was chosen for flight based on a comprehensive assessment of the order of Japanese astronauts' ISS assignments and training status.

Suwa also participated in evaluation testing for JAXA's crewed pressurized rover.

Suwa is expected to be responsible for the maintenance and preservation of the ISS facilities, including the Japanese Experiment Module 'Kibo', as well as various utilization missions such as scientific experiments.

Suwa officially became an astronaut in October 2024 after completing basic training.

Ayu Yoneda congratulated Suwa with encouraging words such as 'I'm looking forward to it' and 'Good luck'.

In 2023, Makoto Suwa was selected as a JAXA astronaut candidate alongside Ayu Yoneda, after a 14-year hiatus.

Suwa plans to visit various training facilities of participating countries in the ISS program to conduct training using different modules and experimental apparatus.

Not all solar flares are accompanied by a CME, prompting further refinement of prediction methods for coronal ejections.

Solar activity poses threats to technology, necessitating improved methods for space weather prediction.

The strongest storms can produce auroras visible from lower latitudes than usual.

Particular spectral anomalies observed in active regions of the Sun constitute a reliable precursor to solar flares according to a study published in Scientific Reports.

The INAF radio telescopes can dedicate only a fraction of their time to solar observations, leading to the development of methods for continuous data collection.

The observations provided high-quality data on the solar chromosphere, the atmospheric layer of the Sun just above its visible surface.

Solar flares are explosions of energy comparable to millions or billions of nuclear bombs released in a few seconds from active regions of the Sun.

The Solaris project will continue the work initiated by SunDish to enhance solar observation techniques.

A phenomenon called spectral flattening occurs when the steepness of the spectrum decreases, indicating the emergence of intense magnetic fields in the solar chromosphere.

Only 11% of intense solar flare events were not preceded by spectral variations based on the study's findings.

The SunDish project demonstrated the ability to predict solar flares with a high level of success by observing the Sun at high radio frequencies using the INAF's radio telescopes.

The predictions of solar flares have primarily relied on complex artificial intelligence algorithms and data from space missions until now.

The integration of additional parameters could potentially improve prediction accuracy for solar flares to 97% according to researcher Alberto Pellizzoni.

The study found that spectral flattening serves as a precursor to subsequent solar flares, occurring up to 30 hours before the flares in 89% of cases.

Solar flares can trigger coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in 50-60% of cases on average, with the likelihood increasing with flare intensity.

The energy from solar flares reaches Earth in approximately eight minutes in the form of electromagnetic waves of various frequencies.

The Sun's radio spectrum is steep under quiet conditions, dominated by thermal emissions.

The Grueff Radio Telescope and the Sardinia Radio Telescope are two large INAF radio telescopes adapted for high-frequency observations of the Sun.

The study led by INAF astrophysicist Sara Mulas produced and analyzed 450 solar maps in K-band from 2018 to 2023.

The SunDish project, established and coordinated by INAF researcher Alberto Pellizzoni, aims to observe the Sun at high radio frequencies, currently from 18 to 26 GHz.

The Grueff Radio Telescope monitored the Sun weekly to obtain predictive physical models of solar activity.

Every eleven years, the Sun completes a cycle from solar minimum to solar maximum characterized by increased sunspot activity.

Before the SunDish project, pointing the antenna close to the Sun was prohibited due to fears of damaging the receivers.

Polar auroras are visible manifestations of the interaction between solar plasma emitted during a CME, the magnetic field, and the Earth's atmosphere.

CMEs are plasma explosions that propagate through interplanetary space and can reach Earth, causing geomagnetic storms.