KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA’s Crew-11 mission is coming to an early end.
The four members of Crew-11 — NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov — are preparing to return to Earth earlier than planned after a medical issue involving an unidentified astronaut developed Wednesday afternoon aboard the International Space Station.
The Crew-11 astronauts were scheduled to return in mid- to late-February.
He said preparations were underway for a routine spacewalk, and everything appeared normal until a sudden change on Wednesday afternoon.
“They had a briefing on Tuesday, everything looked good Wednesday morning, and then Wednesday afternoon, this sudden announcement came,” Kremer added. NASA says it is prioritizing crew safety as it evaluates the best path forward.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed the agency’s decision to bring the crew home early.
“It’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” Isaacman said. Due to medical privacy rules, the agency has not identified the astronaut or released details about the condition.
NASA’s Chief Health and Medical Officer says the incident was significant enough that teams want to conduct a full medical evaluation once the crew returns to Earth.
Although NASA and its international partners train extensively for medical situations in orbit, returning a crew early because of illness is unusual.
NASA says the Crew Dragon Endeavour will depart the International Space Station within the coming days.
Another briefing is expected within the next 48 hours, when the agency plans to provide a clearer timeline for Crew-11’s return to Earth.
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