NASA unexpectedly brings four astronauts back to Earth

Participants of the Crew-11 mission (from left to right): Oleg Platonov, Michael Fincke, Zena Cardman, and Kimiya Yui. Photo: NASA

As reported by The New York Times, for the first time in a quarter-century of the International Space Station's operation, a crew is forced to leave orbit early due to medical reasons.

The decision to return four Crew-11 mission participants was made on January 8 by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. The agency maintains confidentiality and does not disclose the astronaut's name or specific diagnosis, but emphasizes that the patient's condition is assessed as "absolutely stable".

NASA Chief Medical Officer James Polk explained the situation as follows: leaving a person in orbit with an uncertain diagnosis under conditions of limited medical resources is too great a risk. Therefore, the leadership decided to exercise caution and return the crew to Earth as part of a "controlled medical evacuation." NASA representatives note that this is not an emergency situation, but a measured precaution.

In the coming days, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will undock from the ISS and head towards Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will return home. Their mission began in August and was scheduled to conclude only next month, after the arrival of a replacement crew.

Fincke and Cardman were reportedly scheduled to perform a six-hour spacewalk on Thursday, January 8, to upgrade the station's power system. However, it was postponed. According to Dr. Polk, the medical problem is unrelated to the spacewalk or the operation of the station itself.

According to NASA, this is Michael Fincke's fourth flight to the space station and Kimiya Yui's second. Cardman and Platonov went into space for the first time.

As part of the mission, some crew members participate in research dedicated to assessing the impact of deep space travel on human health. This work includes studying how the body assimilates B vitamins in space and how fluid redistribution occurs in the body under conditions of constant weightlessness.

After the departure of Crew-11, three cosmonauts who arrived on the "Soyuz" spacecraft in November will remain on the station. They will have to reduce the volume of scientific research to ensure the station's operation with a smaller crew.

NASA and SpaceX are now considering the possibility of moving the launch of the next mission, Crew-12, to an earlier date. At the same time, management assures that the current situation will not affect the schedule of the Artemis II mission — a flight around the Moon, scheduled for next month.

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