One day after announcing the unprecedented step, NASA has elaborated on plans to return four astronauts from the Crew-11 mission early due to a stable medical issue affecting one crew member. The operation, the first of its kind in 25 years, is scheduled for the coming days aboard their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
NASA's January 8 announcement marked a milestone for the International Space Station, which has operated continuously for 25 years without a medical evacuation—defying predictive models that anticipated one every three years.
The Crew-11 mission, launched August 1, 2025, aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour, featured NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. These four will return early, as the mission's objectives are nearly complete, according to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
The affected astronaut's condition and identity remain private, but NASA's chief health and medical officer, Dr. James Polk, stressed stability: "This is not an emergent evacuation." While the ISS has advanced medical tools sufficient for past issues like toothaches and ear pain, it lacks full ground-based diagnostic capabilities. "The best way to complete that workup is on the ground," Polk said.
A planned spacewalk to prepare for solar panel upgrades was canceled due to the situation. Post-return, the ISS will continue with one NASA astronaut (Chris Williams) and two Russian cosmonauts (Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov) until the Crew-12 mission, potentially accelerated from mid-February.
