Four astronauts returned safely to Earth early Thursday, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California after NASA ordered their mission cut short due to a medical issue—the first time in the agency’s history that a spaceflight has been ended early for such a reason.
Descending beneath four large parachutes, the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Crew 11 commander Zena Cardman, pilot Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov touched down near San Diego at 3:41 a.m. EST. The landing brought to a close a 167-day mission aboard the International Space Station.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya You inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour shortly after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
“On behalf of SpaceX and NASA, welcome home Crew 11,” a SpaceX flight controller radioed moments after splashdown. Cardman responded shortly after, saying, “It’s so good to be home, with deep gratitude to the teams that got us there and back.”
Recovery teams aboard a SpaceX ship reached the capsule within minutes, securing it and bringing it on deck. Flight surgeons were standing by as the astronauts were helped out of the spacecraft and placed on stretchers—a routine procedure for crews returning from long-duration missions as they readjust to Earth’s gravity. All four appeared to be in good spirits, smiling and waving as initial medical checks were conducted.
NASA has not disclosed which crewmember experienced the in-orbit medical issue, nor the nature of the condition, citing strict medical privacy rules. The agency emphasized that the return was not classified as an emergency, but said bringing the crew home allowed access to more comprehensive diagnostic resources on Earth.
“All four crew members will be transported to a local hospital for additional evaluation, taking advantage of medical resources on Earth to provide the best care possible,” NASA said in a blog update. Following an overnight hospital stay, the astronauts are expected to return to Johnson Space Center in Houston for reunions with their families and standard post-flight rehabilitation.
Crew 11 launched to the space station on Aug. 1 and had originally been scheduled to return around Feb. 20, completing a 202-day mission. The timeline changed last week after one crewmember reported a medical concern and requested a private medical conference with ground teams. After reviewing the situation, NASA managers decided the following day to end the mission early.
NASA’s chief medical officer said the decision was precautionary, but it marked a historic first for the agency. In a LinkedIn post after landing, Fincke said the crew was doing well and supported the call to return, writing that it was “the right decision.”
The early departure came just days after Fincke formally handed command of the space station to Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov during a change-of-command ceremony. Remaining aboard the station are Kud-Sverchkov, fellow cosmonaut Sergey Mikaev, and NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who launched last November for a planned eight-month stay.
In the days leading up to the return, the Crew 11 astronauts made no public mention of the medical issue. In a final message posted Wednesday, Yui shared photographs of Japan taken from orbit, writing a farewell to Mount Fuji as the crew prepared for reentry.
The ISS is continuously staffed by seven astronauts, with transportation provided by Russian Soyuz spacecraft and NASA-managed Crew Dragon vehicles. Both serve as on-orbit lifeboats, and longstanding seat-swap agreements between NASA and Roscosmos ensure that at least one U.S. astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut remain aboard the station should a crew need to depart early.
With Crew 11’s departure, Williams will temporarily be the sole astronaut managing the U.S. segment of the station until the arrival of Crew 12. That mission—commanded by Jessica Meir and including rookies Jack Hathaway and Sophie Adenot, along with veteran cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—is currently scheduled to launch on Feb. 15.
NASA and SpaceX are evaluating whether that launch can be moved up by several days, as the agency works in parallel to prepare for the high-profile Artemis 2 mission. Artemis 2 is slated to send four astronauts on a looping flight around the Moon, marking humanity’s first crewed venture to the lunar vicinity in more than half a century.
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