New Delhi: NASA has confirmed that a group of astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station will return to Earth earlier than planned after
one crewmember suffered a health issue. The decision marks a rare moment in the long history of the orbital lab, which has been continuously occupied since the year 2000.
Officials have been careful with details. The astronaut involved has not been named, and NASA has said the individual is stable. Still, the situation is serious enough for the agency to greenlight what it calls the first controlled medical evacuation from the space station. The return is expected within days.
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NASA confirms early return of ISS crew
NASA said the four astronauts of Crew 11 will head back to Earth aboard their SpaceX vehicle. The crew includes US astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.
The agency stressed that this is not an emergency evacuation. James Polk, NASA’s chief medical officer, explained that the choice came down to uncertainty rather than immediate danger. He said “lingering risk” and a “lingering question as to what that diagnosis is” led to the decision to return early.
NASA officials also confirmed the issue did not come from an injury on the station or from any ISS operations.
First medical evacuation in ISS history
Amit Kshatriya, a NASA associate administrator, described the move as unusual. He said it was the “first time we’ve done a controlled medical evacuation from the vehicle.”
He added that the crew relied on their training to handle the situation. According to him, “Yesterday was a textbook example of that training in action. Once the situation on the station stabilized, careful deliberations led us to the decision to return Crew 11.”
From a spaceflight perspective, this matters. The ISS has dealt with medical concerns before, but never one that led to a planned early return in this way.
What happens next on the station
The four astronauts have been in orbit since August 1, and their mission was already nearing its scheduled end. NASA said they will splash down at one of the usual landing zones in the coming days.
One US astronaut, Chris Williams, who arrived earlier on a Russian spacecraft, will stay on the station to maintain an American presence. Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are also still onboard.
NASA had already postponed a planned spacewalk that was scheduled for Thursday. Fincke and Cardman were meant to carry out a 6.5-hour spacewalk to work on power upgrades. That task is now on hold.
Why health decisions in space are complex
Space medicine is not simple. Even small symptoms can look different in microgravity. Polk pointed out that flight computers and medical systems in space are limited compared to Earth, and uncertainty plays a bigger role.
NASA said it may move up the next US mission to the ISS, though no timeline has been shared yet.
The International Space Station remains a critical research platform. It supports experiments for future deep-space missions, including human trips to Mars. The station is expected to be retired after 2030, when it will be guided to burn up over the Pacific Ocean near Point Nemo.
