NASA astronauts return safely to Earth after ‘unexpected medical issue’ cuts space trip short: Here’s what happened

Four astronauts from the International Space Station have safely returned to Earth earlier than planned due to an “unexpected medical issue” with one of the crew members, officials at NASA and SpaceX announced on Thursday. It was the first-ever medical evacuation of astronauts from the ISS.

The SpaceX Crew-11 astronauts had been due to return to Earth in late February, but on Jan. 8, NASA announced its decision to cut the mission short due to a “medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory.” The crew member, who was not identified due to medical privacy guidelines, is in stable condition, NASA said.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during a Thursday news conference that all four astronauts were “all safe and in good spirits.”

When did they return to Earth?

After 167 days in space, a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four astronauts — Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov — splashed down off the coast of San Diego at 3:41 a.m. ET on Thursday.

What happens next?

After splashdown, a recovery ship and two fast boats evaluated the SpaceX Dragon capsule to ensure it was safe to proceed with recovery efforts. Then, the recovery ship hoisted the capsule onto the main deck with the four astronauts still inside, and the crew was able to exit the spacecraft.

“All crew members are currently undergoing the routine post-splashdown medical evaluation,” Isaacman said. The crew member of concern is doing fine. We will share updates on their health as soon as it’s appropriate to do so.” NASA said this will be followed by a planned overnight hospital stay.

The crew members will then return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will reunite with their families and undergo standard postflight reconditioning after their return from space.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev and NASA astronaut Chris Williams will remain on board the ISS to complete their six-month mission, which began in November. They’ll await the arrival of SpaceX Crew-12: NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency and Roscosmos’s Andrey Fedyaev. Crew-12 is due to launch in February for a nine-month space research mission.

What was Crew-11’s mission?

Isaacman said that Crew-11 was a “very successful mission,” despite having to return to Earth early.

“Over the past five months aboard the International Space Station, Crew-11 completed a series of demanding and productive mission objectives,” he said. “The crew spent more than 850 hours on scientific studies, including research on bone loss in microgravity, and the long-term storage of cryogenic fluids in space with direct applications in medical and industrial fields. This work advanced our understanding of long-duration space flight, and contributed valuable research that benefits life here on Earth and further human exploration.”