NASA Orders First-Ever Medical Evacuation For Four-Member Crew After Astronaut Falls Ill On ISS

Last Updated:January 15, 2026, 08:37 IST

NASA had announced its decision to return its SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the space station earlier than planned after an astronaut fell ill due to an undisclosed issue.

(From L-R) NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are returning to Earth. (AP)

NASA has ordered its first medical evacuation for a four-member crew returning from the International Space Station (ISS) after one of the astronauts fell ill with a “serious" but undisclosed issue.

On January 8, NASA announced its decision to return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the space station earlier than originally planned as teams monitor a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory. The astronaut is reportedly in a stable condition.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov are targeted to splash down off the coast of California at 3:41 am ET (2:10 am Indian time) on Thursday, according to a statement by the space agency.

Officials did not identify the astronaut or the issue, citing patient privacy. “This was a serious medical condition. That is why we’re pursuing this path," NASA administrator Jared Isaacman was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Isaacman said NASA expected to provide updates in the next 48 hours on the astronauts’ undocking and atmospheric reentry timeline. The unexpected medical situation also forced the agency to cancel its first spacewalk of the year.

The sick crew member was now stable but there was a “lingering risk", said NASA’s chief health and medical officer, Dr James Polk, adding that the issue has not been properly diagnosed. What the medical issue might be is a matter of speculation, but it is clear that it was not properly treatable on the ISS.

Isaacmna said even if a doctor had been aboard the ISS, the agency would still have wanted to bring the astronaut home. Serious medical issues have been dealt with in the past on the station, suggesting that the current situation is particularly serious.

Only one person on the current NASA mission is sick, but all four need to return because the agency aims to make sure the ISS never has more crew on board than there are available seats in docked space capsules, as those capsules need to serve as lifeboats or rescue vehicles in cases of emergencies.

NASA plans to bring the ageing space station, which is expensive to operate, out of orbit by late 2030 or early 2031. The idea is to do so slowly so the metal laboratory will burn up, with some debris falling into the ocean.

News world NASA Orders First-Ever Medical Evacuation For Four-Member Crew After Astronaut Falls Ill On ISS

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