NASA administrator orders early return of 4 Crew-11 astronauts following medical situation

NASA announced plans Thursday to bring Crew-11 location from the International Space Station (ISS) up of docket aft a unit subordinate experienced a aesculapian issue, stressing the astronaut is stable, and the determination is precautionary — not an exigency evacuation.

The aboriginal instrumentality marks an antithetic but controlled determination by NASA, timed to minimize disruption to abstraction presumption operations.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the determination followed consultations with bureau enactment and aesculapian officials.

"In these endeavors, including the 25 years of continuous quality beingness connected committee the International Space Station, the wellness and the well-being of our astronauts is ever and volition beryllium our highest priority," helium said. "Yesterday, Jan. 7, a azygous unit subordinate connected committee the presumption experienced a aesculapian concern and is present stable.

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The International Space Station (ISS) is seen from NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour aft the presumption and shuttle began a post-undocking comparative separation successful 2011. (NASA via Getty Images)

"After discussions with Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. James Polk and enactment crossed the agency, I've travel to the determination that it's successful the champion involvement of our astronauts to instrumentality Crew-11 up of their planned departure wrong the coming days," Isaacman continued. "The Dragon Endeavour spacecraft volition depart the International Space Station with Commander Zena Cardman, aviator Mike Fincke, Kimia Yui from JAXA and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos, and safely instrumentality them to Earth."

Isaacman said the bureau expects to supply an update wrong the adjacent 48 hours connected the anticipated undocking and reentry timeline.

Over the past 5 months, Crew-11 completed astir of its ngo objectives, supporting abstraction presumption operations and conducting technological research.

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NASA announced plans to instrumentality Crew-11 from the ISS up of docket aft a aesculapian issue, stressing the astronaut is unchangeable and the determination is precautionary. (NASA YouTube)

NASA said Crew-12 is scheduled to motorboat arsenic soon arsenic mid-February, with the bureau evaluating whether an earlier motorboat is possible, portion NASA astronaut Chris Williams volition stay aboard the presumption to support an American beingness and enactment ongoing operations.

Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said formation controllers and astronauts followed established procedures, calling the effect a textbook illustration of NASA’s grooming for unexpected events.

"Every treatment implicit the past 24 hours arsenic we’ve assessed the situation…crew information has ever remained our highest priority," Kshatriya said. "We ne'er instrumentality shortcuts. We ne'er compromise erstwhile it comes to protecting our astronauts."

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NASA SpaceX Crew-11 unit members Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos, left, Pilot Mike Fincke of the U.S., Commander Zena Cardman of the U.S., and Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui of Japan's JAXA, basal extracurricular the Operations and Checkout Building astatine the Kennedy Space Center for transport to Launch Complex 39-A successful Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 1, 2025.  (Reuters/Steve Nesius)

NASA’s main aesculapian serviceman said the determination was driven by limits connected conducting a afloat diagnostic workup aboard the abstraction station.

Dr. James Polk said the astronaut is unchangeable but that diagnostic uncertainty successful microgravity prompted NASA to err connected the broadside of bringing the unit subordinate backmost to Earth.

"Because the astronaut is perfectly stable, it’s not an emergent evacuation – We're not, instantly disembarking and getting the astronaut down," Polk said. "But it leaves that lingering hazard and lingering question arsenic to what that diagnosis is…and truthful always, we err connected the broadside of the astronaut’s wellness and welfare."

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The announcement comes arsenic Crew-11 members were scheduled to behaviour a 6.5-hour spacewalk Thursday to instal hardware extracurricular the ISS.

Astronauts typically unrecorded aboard the ISS for stints of six to 8 months and are equipped with basal aesculapian instrumentality and medications successful the lawsuit of an emergency.

The unit launched from Florida successful August and had been scheduled to instrumentality to Earth successful May.

Spacewalks are highly strenuous and impact months of training.

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Last year, NASA canceled a planned spacewalk aft an astronaut reportedly experienced "spacesuit discomfort." In 2021, U.S. astronaut Mark Vande Hei’s spacewalk was called disconnected owed to a pinched nerve.

Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.