‘Medical emergency’ aboard International Space Station as NASA scrambles to return astronaut

The International Space Station is the last place you want something unexpected to happen. All astronauts sent up there are rigorously screened for health issues and have to undergo a two-week quarantine before they launch to ensure they don’t bring any nasty viruses or bacteria into space with them.

But now something has gone very wrong. NASA has confirmed that they’re rushing Crew-11 of the ISS back to Earth five months’ earlier than planned after an unspecified medical emergency on board. Details are thin on the ground, though an astronaut (who hasn’t been named for privacy reasons) is said to be in a “stable condition” on board.

For the first time in the 25-year history of the International Space Station, we’ve had a serious enough medical emergency in space to bring a crew home early.
Big decision by @nasa leadership, with multiple domino impacts on operations, but I’m glad to see, as always, crew… pic.twitter.com/p3ObJh497D

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) January 8, 2026

Dr James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, has explained that, “It’s not an emergency evacuation, but we are erring on the side of caution for the crew member.”

What’s going on?

Crew-11 consists of Americans Zena Cardman (commander), Michael Fincke (pilot), Japanese Kimya Yui (mission specialist), and Russian Oleg Platonov (mission specialist). Intriguingly, one of the focuses of their mission is addressing health challenges astronauts may encounter on deep space missions, which involves eye and brain tests, MRI scans, and various other medical tests.

For First Time Ever, NASA Is Carrying Out A Medical Evacuation From The International Space Station | IFLScience https://t.co/m3ub61h5pB

— David skowronski (@dskowFL) January 9, 2026

There’s no indication that those experiments are linked to the medical situation on board, though perhaps a heightened scrutiny of their health and repeated testing means doctors are more likely to spot that someone on board requires medical assistance.

Regardless, the four are coming back to Earth very soon. Naturally, bringing back astronauts from the ISS isn’t something you can do immediately, but it seems they’ll return to Earth in the same SpaceX Crew Dragon they came up in and are expected to splashdown “in the coming days”.

Ordinarily, there’d be a replacement crew ready to go, so the unexpected turnaround means the ISS will still be inhabited by just three astronauts after they leave. Here’s hoping that Crew-11 returns to Earth safely and we eventually learn just what happened up there that warranted such a dramatic rescue.