NASA delayed a spacewalk which was scheduled for January 8, after spotting a medical issue with one of the astronauts, which was spotted on January 7. Now the space agency is making history, as for the first time in more than 25 years of space station life, they are bringing four astronauts back to Earth – before the scheduled date, due to a medical issue.
Though the crew is okay, and no one in the team is in immediate danger, NASA says.
What's the real reason behind cutting the mission short?
Jared Isaacman, NASA’s Administrator, put it straight: the ISS just doesn’t have the right medical equipment to figure out and treat what’s going on. He stressed, “It’s not an emergency de-orbit.” This isn’t something out of a movie — NASA actually trains for these kinds of things all the time.
Medical condition made trickier by microgravity
Dr James Polk, NASA’s Chief Health and Medical Officer, added that this is not about an accident, injury, or anything to do with a spacewalk. It’s a medical condition made trickier by microgravity and the fact that the station has limited tools for diagnosis.
How is Crew-11?
The crew-11 is made up of Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke from NASA, Kimiya Yui from Japan’s JAXA, and Oleg Platonov from Russia’s Roscosmos. They launched last August 2025 on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour and were already close to wrapping up their six-month mission.
The medical concern first showed up on January 7. That’s when NASA called off a planned spacewalk for Cardman and Fincke, mentioning a “medical concern.” They have not said which astronaut is affected — privacy rules and all that.
Splashdown details
Once Crew-11 leaves, the ISS will be down to a temporary three-person team: Christopher Williams from NASA, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev from Roscosmos. Williams will be the only American up there for a bit, but NASA says he’s ready for anything, with ground teams backing him up around the clock.
Crew-12 is lined to cover up for Crew-11
As for what’s next, Crew-12 is lined up to launch sometime in mid-February. NASA’s looking at whether they can move that up, but for now, Crew-11 will be back on Earth before Crew-12 gets off the ground.