“Medical Concern” Aboard International Space Station Compels NASA To Have Crew Return To Earth Early
on Jan 08, 2026
Article updated on Thursday, Jan. 15.
SpaceX Crew-11 Safely Returns To Earth
“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission,” wrote NASA in a statement released today, Thursday, Jan. 8.
By the evening of Jan. 8, NASA had decided to have the crew return to Earth ahead of schedule, citing a “medical concern” affecting one of the crew members.
A news release stated:
“NASA announced on Thursday its decision to return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the International Space Station earlier than originally planned as teams monitor a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory.”
Continuing, the release reads, “As NASA reviews Crew-11 return dates, the agency also is working with SpaceX, and its international partners, to review the options available to advance launch opportunities for the Crew-12 mission.”
After undocking on Wednesday, Jan. 14, SpaceX Crew-11 came out of orbit and descended to Earth on schedule.
By 3:45 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15, as seen on footage from NASA with night vision, Crew-11 successfully had its splashdown off the coast of California.
In total, their mission lasted 167 days, and it saw them travel nearly 71 million miles and complete more than 2,670 orbits around Earth, NASA said.
Speaking on Crew-11’s accomplishments, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said:
“I couldn’t be prouder of our astronauts and the teams on the ground at NASA, SpaceX, and across our international partnerships. Their professionalism and focus kept the mission on track, even with an adjusted timeline. Crew-11 completed more than 140 science experiments that advance human exploration. Missions like Crew-11 demonstrate the capability inherent in America’s space program — our ability to bring astronauts home as needed, launch new crews quickly, and continue pushing forward on human spaceflight as we prepare for our historic Artemis II mission, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and ultimately Mars.”
Watch Crew-11’s return, and see the crew members begin filing off of the capsule and taken away on stretchers to account for their bodies not being used to Earth’s gravity, here:
Preparing To Return Early
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station had a scheduled spacewalk set to occur on Jan. 8.
However, that spacewalk was postponed.
The medical concern, according to NASA, arose on Jan. 7, which was when the decision was made to postpone the spacewalk.
Little information has been disclosed on this development, with NASA adding, “Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member.”
The agency did note that “the situation is stable.”
By Friday, Jan. 9, NASA announced it was “targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 14, for the undocking of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International Space Station, pending weather conditions.”
Crew-11 is expected to splashdown off the coast of California at 3:40 a.m. the next day, Jan. 15.
The full timeline for their early return is as follows:
Wednesday, Jan. 14
- 3 p.m. – Hatch closure coverage begins
- 3:30 p.m. – Hatch closing
- 4:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage begins
- 5 p.m. – Undocking
Thursday, Jan. 15
- 2:15 a.m. – Return coverage begins
- 2:50 a.m. – Deorbit burn
- 3:40 a.m. – Splashdown
- 5:45 a.m. – Return to Earth media news conference
Despite the early return, Crew-11 was still conducting scientific research as recently as Jan. 12.
Watch NASA’s Jan. 8 press conference on the developing situation, here:
About The Crew
Prior to the return to Earth of SpaceX Crew-11, there were seven people aboard the International Space Station.
The Crew-11 team is comprised of four people: NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, as well as Japan’s Kimiya Yui, from JAXA; and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
Cardman, who served as commander of the Crew-11 mission, was on her first spaceflight.
Fincke, who was the mission’s pilot, had spent the longest amount of time in space of those in Crew-11, having spent nearly 548 days in space as of Jan. 15.
On August 1, 2025, Crew-11 launched to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, making it the 11th commercial flight conducted by NASA. Crew-11 successfully docked at the space station the next day.
They were expected to return in late February of this year, with NASA’s decision to pursue returning Crew-11 to Earth ahead of schedule bringing their mission to an end on its 167th day.
NASA concluded one of its Jan. 8 updates, writing, “These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely. We will provide further updates within the next 24 hours.”
Revisit the SpaceX Crew-11 launch, here:
Information On The Postponed Spacewalk
During a Jan. 6 news conference conducted by NASA, prior to the announcement of a “medical concern” within Crew-11, the goals for the Jan. 8 spacewalk were outlined.
NASA had planned for Commander Cardman and Pilot Fincke to participate in the spacewalk, working to “finish the prep for … future rollout solar arrays.”
These rollout solar arrays, or ROSA, are used to power the International Space Station.
“Additionally, the duo will swab the outside of the ISS again to test for microbes in our microorganisms experiment campaign,” said Bill Spetch, operations integration manager with NASA.
Notably, the spacewalk was to be Cardman’s first spacewalk, and it would’ve been Fincke’s 10th.
Watch the press conference for the now-postponed spacewalk, here:
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