This event represents the first instance in the station’s 25-year history that a mission has been cut short for a medical reason
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule brought four astronauts back to Earth on Thursday, following an early departure from the International Space Station (ISS) by one month prompted by a medical situation involving one of the crew.
The team of four had been living and working on the ISS since August, conducting scientific research, and their stay was originally planned to extend into next month after a handover with the newly arrived Crew-12 mission.
The Crew-11 astronauts – Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, and Japan’s Kimiya Yui – splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego at 3:41am ET on Thursday, ending an approximately 11-hour trip from the orbiting laboratory.
The identity of the astronaut requiring medical attention remains unknown. NASA stated the individual is in stable condition and is anticipated to be transported to a hospital, but the agency has not released the person’s name or details about the medical condition.
Following the splashdown, the crew boarded a recovery vessel that hoisted their SpaceX capsule from the ocean.
All four crew members were observed smiling and waving as they emerged from the spacecraft. NASA confirmed they will receive standard medical evaluations, a customary practice for anyone returning from space.
While NASA has not revealed the precise details that led to the early return, the agency called off a planned spacewalk on Wednesday afternoon because of the medical issue. The extravehicular activity, which was to involve the installation of new solar panels, was assigned to NASA astronauts Fincke and Cardman.
According to media reports, Japan’s space agency (JAXA) has stated that their astronaut, Kimiya Yui, was not the one affected.
“This is not an injury that occurred during operations,” Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, said on January 8. He explained that the problem arose from “the difficult areas of microgravity” and that the decision was made to bring the astronaut home to utilize more advanced diagnostic capabilities on Earth.
Operations on the ISS will continue to be managed by Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev, along with NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who arrived at the station in November aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft.