Four astronauts evacuated from the International Space Station (ISS) due to an unprecedented medical emergency have returned to Earth.
NASA astronauts Mike Finke and Zena Cardman, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kamiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov emerge from NASA’s SpaceX Crew 11 Dragon spacecraft after splashing down in the dark off the coast of California at 3:41 a.m. ET on Thursday (January 15).
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Welcome back, Crew-11! At 3:41 a.m. ET, @SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California. pic.twitter.com/8LFpdKwizcJanuary 15, 2026
The landing marks the completion of an unprecedented early return as one of the crew had an undisclosed medical issue. This is the first time an ISS mission has been suspended for health reasons, Live Science’s sister site Space.com reported.
Crew-11 was scheduled to launch into space on August 1, 2025, and remain on the ISS until replaced by another crew member in mid-February. However, on January 7, NASA announced that the extravehicular activity outside the ISS would be postponed due to a medical problem experienced by one of the astronauts, and the entire crew would return early the following day.
The Dragon capsule undocked from the ISS and returned to Earth on Wednesday (January 14) at 5:20 p.m. ET. After landing in the Pacific Ocean, the capsule was loaded onto a SpaceX recovery ship. The astronaut was then rescued from the capsule and placed on a stretcher. This was standard practice for all returning astronauts, who then underwent regular medical examinations.
All four crew members are currently in local hospitals. NASA is not releasing the names of the astronauts who experienced medical problems or details of their medical problems, citing medical privacy. The agency previously acknowledged that only one individual was involved in the matter.
“The crew members who were concerned are doing well,” Isaacman said. “We will share updates on their health status as soon as the need arises.”
Crew 12 was originally scheduled to arrive at the ISS in their place, but that is not expected to arrive until next month. It is unusual for staff rotation to be so chaotic. But other astronauts also live on the ISS, including NASA’s Christopher Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev.
