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In unprecedented move, NASA cuts short space mission over astronaut’s health
Story by Adela Suliman, Kasha Patel 2d
For the first time in the International Space Station’s history, NASA said it was cutting short a crew mission after an astronaut “experienced a medical situation.”
“It’s in the best interests of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters at a news conference Thursday, without naming the astronaut or specifying what the problem was.
The four-person Crew-11 is made up of U.S. astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Together, they have spent about five months aboard the space station and had planned to stay until mid-February.
On Wednesday, they were conducting scientific research, ahead of a planned space walk, when one of the astronauts had a medical issue that required help from the other crew members and onboard medical equipment, NASA officials said.
“The astronaut is absolutely stable. This is not an emergent evacuation,” said NASA’s chief health and medical officer, J.D. Polk.
He said the issue also did not reflect a problem with the space station environment and “was not an injury that occurred in the pursuit of operations.”
Although the space station has medical equipment on board, he said the issue was sufficient to warrant bringing the astronaut back for a full work-up and diagnosis at a facility with more extensive hardware and without the challenges of working in microgravity..
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NASA makes 'unprecedented' call to bring astronauts home after illness, expert says: 'Evacuated from orbit'
Crew-11 astronauts to return within days after medical emergency aboard ISS, cutting short planned mission
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten By Sarah Rumpf-Whitten Fox News
Published January 11, 2026 9:00 am EST
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Space historian and NASA expert Rod Pyle said the decision represents a historic first in U.S. human spaceflight.
"The declaration of a medical emergency in space is unprecedented, certainly in the operation of the International Space Station, which has been crewed continuously for 25 years," Pyle said. "They did have one notable medical emergency, in the past, when an astronaut suffered deep vein thrombosis, but they were able to actually stabilize that in orbit and continue on the mission."
"This is the first time in the history of the ISS, and as far as I remember, the first time in the history of the American space program, where somebody had to be brought home early, in effect, evacuated from orbit."
...
Story by Adela Suliman, Kasha Patel 2d
For the first time in the International Space Station’s history, NASA said it was cutting short a crew mission after an astronaut “experienced a medical situation.”
“It’s in the best interests of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters at a news conference Thursday, without naming the astronaut or specifying what the problem was.
The four-person Crew-11 is made up of U.S. astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Together, they have spent about five months aboard the space station and had planned to stay until mid-February.
On Wednesday, they were conducting scientific research, ahead of a planned space walk, when one of the astronauts had a medical issue that required help from the other crew members and onboard medical equipment, NASA officials said.
“The astronaut is absolutely stable. This is not an emergent evacuation,” said NASA’s chief health and medical officer, J.D. Polk.
He said the issue also did not reflect a problem with the space station environment and “was not an injury that occurred in the pursuit of operations.”
Although the space station has medical equipment on board, he said the issue was sufficient to warrant bringing the astronaut back for a full work-up and diagnosis at a facility with more extensive hardware and without the challenges of working in microgravity..
...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NASA makes 'unprecedented' call to bring astronauts home after illness, expert says: 'Evacuated from orbit'
Crew-11 astronauts to return within days after medical emergency aboard ISS, cutting short planned mission
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten By Sarah Rumpf-Whitten Fox News
Published January 11, 2026 9:00 am EST
...
Space historian and NASA expert Rod Pyle said the decision represents a historic first in U.S. human spaceflight.
"The declaration of a medical emergency in space is unprecedented, certainly in the operation of the International Space Station, which has been crewed continuously for 25 years," Pyle said. "They did have one notable medical emergency, in the past, when an astronaut suffered deep vein thrombosis, but they were able to actually stabilize that in orbit and continue on the mission."
"This is the first time in the history of the ISS, and as far as I remember, the first time in the history of the American space program, where somebody had to be brought home early, in effect, evacuated from orbit."
...
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