NASA and SpaceX have announced an early return to Earth for the Crew-11 mission due to a medical issue with one of the astronauts. The crew was originally scheduled to stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) until February.
The incident delayed a planned spacewalk on January 8. Officials said the astronaut is stable but requires medical attention that cannot be performed on the station.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the ISS at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 14. Coverage of the return begins at 2:15 a.m. ET Thursday, with splashdown off the California coast expected at 3:40 a.m. ET. A press conference will follow at 5:35 a.m. ET.
NASA Chief Health Officer J.D. Polk said the ISS has robust medical hardware, but it is limited compared with Earth-based emergency facilities. Returning the astronaut is the safest way to provide a full medical workup.
The Crew-11 team includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. They launched on August 1, 2025.
This marks the first early evacuation of astronauts from the ISS for medical reasons, according to retired astronaut Chris Hadfield. The station will now operate with three resident astronauts: two from NASA and one from Roscosmos.
NASA said the early return may affect the schedule of the next SpaceX mission, Crew-12, originally set for February. The agency is reviewing the possibility of moving up its launch.
Officials emphasized that the Crew-11 mission had been successfully performing research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the station before the medical incident.
