SAN DIEGO — Four astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego early Thursday, marking the end of a truncated mission to the International Space Station prompted by an undisclosed medical issue among the crew. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule after spending 165 days in orbit, about a month shorter than originally planned.
The dramatic return, which occurred at 3:41 a.m. ET following an nearly 11-hour journey from the space station, was the first instance in the ISS's 25-year history that a mission was cut short due to a medical emergency in space. Mission controllers greeted the crew with a warm radio message: “On behalf of SpaceX and NASA, welcome home, Crew-11,” moments after the capsule touched down in pristine weather conditions.
In a post-landing news briefing, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized the crew's well-being, stating, “All crew members are currently undergoing the routine post-splashdown medical evaluation. The crew member of concern is doing fine. We will share updates on their health as soon as it’s appropriate to do so.” Due to medical privacy concerns, NASA has not revealed the identity of the affected astronaut or specifics about the incident, describing it only as a “serious situation” that arose in orbit.
Isaacman noted that the decision to bring the crew home early was made out of an abundance of caution, ensuring the astronaut received comprehensive care on the ground. “This was a deliberate decision to allow the right medical evaluations to happen on the ground, where the full range of diagnostic capability exists,” veteran astronaut Mike Fincke wrote in a LinkedIn statement before departing the station. Fincke, who now has four spaceflights to his credit, added that the crew was “stable, safe and well cared for,” calling the early return “the right call, even if it’s a bit bittersweet.”
The medical issue first surfaced last week, leading NASA to cancel a planned spacewalk on Jan. 8 that would have seen Cardman and Fincke upgrade the station's exterior. A second spacewalk, scheduled for Thursday morning, was also postponed indefinitely. According to officials, the crew member has remained stable since the problem emerged, but the agency prioritized a swift return to leverage Earth's advanced medical resources.
The splashdown itself unfolded smoothly, with the Dragon capsule's drogue and main parachutes deploying successfully minutes before impact. SpaceX recovery teams arrived promptly, hoisting the capsule onto their vessel amid a pod of playful dolphins swimming nearby. Fincke was the first to exit about 50 minutes after landing, followed by Cardman, Yui, and Platonov. The astronauts, part of the Crew-11 mission, emerged smiling, offering thumbs-up and waves to waiting cameras.
For Cardman and Platonov, this marked their inaugural spaceflight, while Yui completed his second orbital mission. The crew had launched in August aboard the same SpaceX Dragon that carried them home, docking with the ISS to conduct a range of scientific experiments and maintenance tasks. Their early departure leaves the station with a skeleton crew of three: NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev.
With Crew-11's return, Williams is now the sole NASA representative on board, tasked with overseeing U.S. science operations for the coming weeks. The next crew rotation, designated Crew-12, was slated for no earlier than Feb. 15, but NASA is exploring ways to accelerate the launch. Joel Montalbano, NASA's deputy associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate, addressed the timing challenges during Thursday's briefing.
“This is what we’re going to spend the next few days on,” Montalbano said, explaining that officials must balance the station's needs with other high-profile launches in February, including the Artemis II mission. That crewed test flight will send four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon, a critical step in NASA's plans to return humans to the lunar surface.
The incident underscores the inherent risks of long-duration spaceflight, where even minor health issues can escalate without the full spectrum of terrestrial medical support. The ISS, a collaborative outpost orbiting 250 miles above Earth since 1998, has hosted continuous human presence for over two decades, involving partners from the U.S., Russia, Japan, Europe, and Canada. This event is a rare deviation from the station's routine six-month rotations.
Isaacman reiterated during the briefing that all four returning astronauts were “safe and in good spirits,” praising the teamwork between NASA and SpaceX that enabled the expedited return. The Dragon capsule, reusable and autonomous, has become a cornerstone of NASA's commercial crew program since 2020, ferrying astronauts to and from the ISS more frequently and cost-effectively than the retired space shuttle.
As the crew undergoes post-flight recovery at a NASA facility in Houston, questions linger about the long-term implications for space station operations. With only three occupants, routine maintenance and experiments may face delays, potentially affecting ongoing research in microgravity biology, materials science, and Earth observation. NASA officials have assured that critical systems remain operational, but the reduced manpower could strain resources until reinforcements arrive.
The early return also highlights the evolving dynamics of international space cooperation, particularly amid geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Russia. Despite these challenges, the Crew-11 mission exemplified seamless collaboration, with Yui and Platonov contributing alongside their American counterparts. Russian space officials have not commented publicly on the medical issue, but the joint briefing format suggests continued partnership on the ISS.
Looking ahead, NASA's focus shifts to integrating lessons from this event into future missions. Montalbano indicated that while the Crew-12 timeline remains fluid, the agency is committed to minimizing disruptions. The Artemis program, meanwhile, proceeds apace, with Artemis II set to build on the uncrewed Artemis I success from late 2022, paving the way for lunar landings by the end of the decade.
For the returning astronauts, readjusting to Earth's gravity after 165 days in space will be a gradual process, involving physical therapy and medical checkups. Cardman, a geobiologist selected in NASA's 2017 astronaut class, expressed excitement about sharing her experiences from the mission's scientific highlights before the abrupt end. As the space community digests this unusual chapter, it serves as a reminder of the fragility and resilience of human exploration beyond our planet.