NASA has conducted its first-ever "medical evacuation" from the International Space Station (ISS) in the 65-year history of human spaceflight after an astronaut required medical care. The SpaceX capsule carrying Crew-11 departed the station on Wednesday.
The Dragon Endeavour capsule, carrying four astronauts from the U.S., Russia, and Japan, is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego early Thursday morning. This decision shortened the crew's mission by approximately one month.
NASA officials did not disclose the identity of the astronaut or the nature of the medical issue, citing patient privacy. However, former ISS commander Mike Fincke shared on social media that the astronaut's condition was "stable and safe" and that the evacuation was a precautionary measure to take advantage of full diagnostic facilities on Earth.
The mission, launched in August with Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui, and Oleg Platonov, was originally scheduled to continue until the end of February. However, a spacewalk planned for January 7 was abruptly canceled, followed by the announcement of the evacuation, which accelerated the mission timeline.
Following the evacuation, only three crew members remain on the ISS: one American and two Russians. NASA and SpaceX are working to advance the launch of the next crew (Crew-12), originally scheduled for mid-February, to fill the staffing gap.
In the station's 25-year history of continuous human presence, a medical evacuation has never been performed before. The last somewhat comparable incident occurred in 1985 when Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin had to return early from Salyut 7 due to a serious infection.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized that astronaut health and well-being will always remain the highest priority.
