NASA to Return Crew-11 Early Due to Astronaut's Medical Issue
NASA is bringing the Crew-11 mission back to Earth ahead of schedule after an astronaut experienced a medical issue aboard the International Space Station.
NASA has decided to return the four astronauts of the Crew-11 mission from the International Space Station (ISS) earlier than planned due to a crew member's medical issue. The affected astronaut is reported to be stable, and the agency has not disclosed their identity or specific details of the condition, citing privacy concerns.
The Crew-11 team, consisting of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui, and Russia's Oleg Platonov, launched aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on August 1, 2025. Their mission was originally scheduled to conclude in mid-February 2026. However, following the medical incident, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that the crew would return to Earth "in the coming days."
"It is not an emergency de-orbit, even though we always retain that capability, and NASA and our partners train for that routinely," Isaacman stated. "The capability to diagnose and treat this properly does not live on the International Space Station."
The medical issue came to light on January 7, leading NASA to postpone a planned spacewalk that was to be conducted by Cardman and Fincke. The spacewalk aimed to prepare the ISS for the installation of new solar arrays. NASA's Chief Health and Medical Officer, Dr. James Polk, emphasized that the decision to return the crew early was made out of an abundance of caution.
"Because the astronaut is absolutely stable, this is not an emergent evacuation," Polk explained. "We're not immediately disembarking and getting the astronaut down."
This marks the first medical evacuation from the ISS in its 25-year history. The remaining ISS crew members—NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev—will continue station operations until the arrival of the next crew rotation, SpaceX's Crew-12 mission, which is under evaluation for an earlier launch date.
"We will absolutely learn from this situation as well, to see if that informs our future on-orbit operations," Isaacman added, highlighting NASA's commitment to astronaut health and mission safety.