Astronaut Daniel Tani, orbiting Earth aboard the international space station, learned Wednesday that his mother had died in a car crash, marking what NASA officials believe is the first time a crew member has lost a close family member while in flight.

Officials said Tani was informed of his mother’s death soon after it occurred. Rose Tani, 90, was killed outside of Chicago when her car was struck by a train.

NASA officials said Tani continued with his duties on the space station, although a flight surgeon support team is ready to work with him via a confidential radio link if he asks.

“As far as we know, this is the first time a crew member had a close family member pass away,” said NASA spokeswoman Kylie Clem. “Nobody recalls any other instance.”

With space travel becoming an increasingly long-term endeavor — space station stays last for months, and future travel to the moon and beyond could last months or years — Clem said the agency asks crew members to decide in advance whether they want to be informed while in space about deaths or serious injuries in their families.

“It’s an option they all discuss beforehand,” Clem said.

Rose Tani’s car was hit by a freight train after she drove around a school bus stopped at a railroad crossing, according to a statement from the Lombard, Ill., police department. Tani, a Japanese American, was born in the United States, but she and her husband, Henry, were forced into internment camps in California and Utah during World War II. Henry Tani died when Daniel was a child.