NASA has decided to bring Crew-11 astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) earlier than planned due to an ongoing medical issue with one of the four members. During a press conference on January 9, NASA’s chief medical officer Dr. James Polk emphasised that this is not an “emergency evacuation” but the agency is practicing caution because the astronaut’s health could still be at risk.
Officials have not revealed the affected member’s name or anything about the medical condition to maintain privacy but they assured the concerned person is stable. As for the return date, NASA stated it “anticipates a decision on a target Crew-11 return date in the coming days.”
‘Not an emergency evacuation,’ says NASA
The health crisis arose ahead of the planned spacewalk on January 8 when Crew-11 members Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman were supposed to step out of the ISS for installing new equipment. However, Dr. Polk clarified – “This is not an operational issue. This was not an injury that occurred in the pursuit of operations.”
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman also emphasised that “it is not an emergency de-orbit” but admitted that “the capability to diagnose and treat this properly does not live on the International Space Station.”
Crew-11 – consisting of Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui and Oleg Platonov – launched on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft in August 2025 and are nearing the end of their six-month-long mission. The officials said that their early departure would not impact the operational capabilities of the ISS.
“We’re always going to do the right thing for our astronauts, but it’s recognising it’s the end of the Crew-11 mission right now. They’ve achieved almost all of their mission objectives,” Isaacman said. “Crew-12 is going to launch in a matter of weeks anyway. This is an opportune time – when the vehicle is ready, when weather supports – to bring our crew home,” he added. The Crew-12 mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than February 15.
With Crew-11’s departure, the ISS will be left with just three astronauts – Chris Williams (from US) and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergey Mikaev (from Russia). These three astronauts would also have just one Soyuz spacecraft to rely on for a return journey in case of an emergency. “We will have to adjust the timeline for a single crew operation but Chris is trained to do every task we would ask him to do,” NASA’s associate administrator Amit Kshatriya said adding that the Russian crewmates would be called on to contribute in any way possible if necessary.
“This is proceeding exactly as designed. This is how we trained for these types of situations routinely. And what you’re seeing right now is NASA communicating and being as transparent as we possibly can,” Isaacman said in his closing remarks.
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