For the first time in its 65-year history, NASA is being forced to end a space mission early due to a crew member’s health emergency.
A “serious medical condition” affecting an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has prompted the U.S. space agency to arrange the expedited return to Earth of the station’s four-member crew. The announcement was made late Thursday during an emergency press briefing by NASA’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman.
According to Isaacman, the decision was unavoidable because “the capability for diagnosis and appropriate treatment does not exist on the ISS.” Citing medical confidentiality, NASA did not disclose the astronaut’s identity or the nature of the condition. However, NASA Chief Medical Officer James Polk emphasized that the issue “is not related to an injury sustained during operations,” clarifying that it did not occur while the astronaut was working.
NASA is expected to announce the crew’s return date within the next 48 hours. Crew-11 had originally been scheduled to return next month, following the arrival of their replacements earlier this week.
Crew-11 consists of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. The team has been in orbit since August and was originally slated to return to Earth in May.
Earlier on Thursday, NASA also canceled a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk that would have involved Fincke, the station’s commander, and Cardman, a flight engineer. Spacewalks are among the most demanding activities undertaken in orbit, requiring months of intensive training and placing significant physical strain on astronauts.
The unprecedented decision underscores the limits of medical care in space—and the priority placed on crew safety, even at the cost of disrupting long-planned missions.
