NASA says it will return 4 astronauts home early in 1st-ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station
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The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 on the International Space Station. Clockwise, top left: NASA’s Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, Russia’s Oleg Platonov and Japan’s Kimiya Yui. | Credit: NASA
“For the first time, astronauts will leave the International Space Station early due to a medical problem.
The agency announced Thursday afternoon (January 8) that it had decided to take the four SpaceX astronauts Crew-11 return mission International Space Station (ISS) ahead of schedule due to a medical problem experienced by a crew member in orbit.
It will be the first medical evacuation in the history of the orbiting laboratory, which has continuously hosted rotating crews of astronauts since November 2000. But there is no reason to panic, agency officials stressed: the astronaut concerned is in stable condition and should be fine.
“This is not an emergency deorbit, although we still retain this capability, and NASA and our partners train regularly for this,” he added. recently confirmed NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters at a news conference Thursday.
“The International Space Station does not have the capacity to properly diagnose and treat this problem,” Isaacman added, explaining why he ultimately decided to accelerate the departure schedule.
Crew 11 is made up of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, Japanese Kimiya Yui and Oleg Platonov of the Russian space agency. Roscosmos.
The quartet launched to the ISS aboard the EspaceX Capsule Crew Dragon Endeavor on August 1, 2025. They are already nearing the end of their planned six-month mission aboard the orbiting laboratory, which may have made the evacuation call a little easier.
“We will always do the right thing for our astronauts, but we recognize that this is the end of the Crew-11 mission for now. They have achieved almost all of their mission objectives,” Isaacman said. “Crew-12 is going to launch in a few weeks anyway. This is the opportune time – when the vehicle is ready, when the weather permits – to bring our crew home.”
The departure schedule has not yet been finalized, but we should have an update on this in the coming days, he added.
The health concern emerged on Wednesday, January 7, when NASA announced that it was postponing a spacewalk scheduled for January 8 due to a “medical concern“involving an astronaut. This spacewalk was to be led by Cardman and Fincke.
NASA has not identified the affected astronaut or provided many details about the medical problem, citing privacy concerns. But at Thursday’s news conference, Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, said the problem had nothing to do with the spacewalk or its preparations.
“This is not an operational issue. This is not an injury that occurred during continued operations,” Polk said. “It is mainly a medical problem in difficult areas of microgravityand with the hardware suite we have available to carry out a diagnosis.”
A medical evacuation from the ISS is not really surprising. In fact, it should have been done a long time ago: Statistical modeling suggests there should be one such incident about every three years, according to Polk.
The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission poses for a photo during a training session before its launch to the International Space Station. From left to right: Oleg Platonov, Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman and Kimiya Yui. Credit: SpaceX | Credit: SpaceX
The mission that succeeds Crew-11, the four astronauts Crew-12Currently expected to launch in mid-February. NASA plans to accelerate this timeline, but it is unlikely that Crew 12 will be able to leave the ground before Crew 11 returns.
So after the departure of Crew 11, the ISS will probably consist of only three people for a while: NASA’s Christopher Williams and cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev. The trio arrived at the orbiting laboratory aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. November 27.
Williams will therefore be the only American on the station for a while. But it’s a responsibility he can handle, NASA officials said.
“Chris is trained to perform any task we would ask him to perform on the vehicle,” NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said Thursday.
“Of course, we also carry out many operations on the vehicle from our various control centers all over the world,” added Kshatriya. “So he will have thousands of people looking over his shoulder, as our team does all the time, to make sure they continue the groundbreaking science.”
