NASA says a medical situation with an astronaut is ending ISS mission early
Out of an abundance of caution, NASA announced it's ending a mission to the International Space Station early because of a medical situation involving one of the astronauts aboard the station.
“Yesterday, Jan. 7, a single crew member on board the station experienced a medical situation and is now stable. After discussions with Chief Health and Medical Officer, Dr. JD Polk, and leadership across the agency, I’ve come to the decision that it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman during a press conference on Thursday.
Isaacman said the crew of four, including two American astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and a Roscosmos cosmonaut, will return to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavor spacecraft within the coming days.
“Because the astronaut is absolutely stable, this is not an emergent evacuation; we’re not immediately disembarking and getting the astronaut down. But it leaves that lingering risk and lingering question as to what that diagnosis is, and that means there is some lingering risk for that astronaut on board,” said Dr. James "JD" Polk.
Dr. Polk said this is the first time in the 25 years that humans have been working and living aboard the station that a medical evacuation has been necessary.
“We are erring on the side of caution for the crew member and in their best interest and in their best medical welfare,” said Dr. Polk.
Due to medical privacy concerns, NASA is withholding the name of the impacted astronaut and is not sharing details about their condition or symptoms.
The unprecedented move comes after the space agency announced it was postponing a planned spacewalk with the two American astronauts, scheduled for Thursday morning.
There are two spacecraft capable of returning humans to Earth docked to the station, including the SpaceX Dragon that will be used to bring the crew home. There are currently seven astronauts aboard the station, and three, two Russians and one American, will remain aboard. The launch window for the four-person Crew-12 mission opens Feb. 15.
NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman were scheduled to work outside of the ISS on Thursday for more than six hours to install a modification kit and route cables for a future roll-out solar array, according to the agency. They were also planning to add jumper cables, photograph the hardware and collect five microorganism samples near the station's airlock.
At the time, the agency said it was not appropriate to share additional details due to medical privacy reasons, but confirmed the situation -- which "arose Wednesday afternoon" -- was stable and that a new date for the spacewalk would be announced later.
The four members of Crew-11 traveled to the ISS on Aug. 1, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. It was the first time in space for two of the four crew members -- NASA astronaut and mission commander Cardman and Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Oleg Platonov. The mission is NASA astronaut and mission pilot Fincke's fourth trip to the station and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and mission specialist Kimiya Yui's second trip.
NASA selected Cardman to be part of the 2017 class of astronauts. A Williamsburg, Virginia, native, she holds degrees in biology and marine sciences.
Fincke is a space veteran, having spent more than a year in orbit and having performed nine spacewalks. The retired Air Force colonel previously served as an ISS commander and mission specialist.
Yui, a mission specialist, is returning to the ISS for a second visit after previously spending 142 days aboard the station as part of Expeditions 44 and 45.
Platonov, a graduate of the Krasnodar Air Force Academy, became a cosmonaut in 2018 and will serve as a mission specialist.
"I cannot tell you enough how meaningful it is to have a crew that is as kind and as thoughtful and as wonderful as they are incredibly technically competent, incredible astronauts, cosmonauts coming from multiple agencies, many different backgrounds. They make my job very, very easy as commander," Cardman said during a pre-launch press conference.
The crew marked a historic milestone for the ISS in November, when NASA celebrated 25 years since the first crew arrived at the station.
The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program that partners with private companies to deliver humans to and from the ISS. According to NASA, Crew-11 is the "11th crew rotation mission of SpaceX's human space transportation system and its 12th flight with astronauts."
