WASHINGTON: NASA has announced that a crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is facing a “serious medical condition,” prompting the agency to return the four-person Crew-11 team to Earth months earlier than planned — marking the first early evacuation in the ISS’s 25-year history.
Speaking at a press conference, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Administrator Jared Isaacman said the decision was made in consultation with medical officials because “the capability to diagnose and treat this properly does not live on the International Space Station.” The affected astronaut has not been identified, and the nature of the condition remains private, according to Reuters.
NASA emphasized that this is not an emergency evacuation but a precaution to safeguard the crew’s health. The agency had previously canceled a planned spacewalk due to the medical concern.
Crew-11, which launched in August aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. One American astronaut will remain aboard the ISS with two Russian cosmonauts until the arrival of the next crew.
Medical experts noted that returning the crew early may temporarily delay experiments and maintenance tasks aboard the station.
“The space station is a big, complex feat of engineering,” said Dr. Simeon Barber, a space scientist at the Open University. “The remaining crew will focus on essential operations while waiting for the full complement of astronauts to return.”
NASA stressed that the health and safety of astronauts remain its top priority, and this unprecedented step reflects the agency’s commitment to ensuring proper care when medical conditions arise in space.
