NASA set to bring astronaut (and the rest) of Crew-11 home early for medical reasons

"The members of NASA's Crew-11 mission are coming home about a month early because one of the crew has a health condition worrisome enough that the space agency decided the person needed to get thoroughly checked out on the ground. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and an astronaut from Japan named Kimiya Yui, are expected to splash down off the coast of California early Thursday morning."

"This is the first medical evacuation of the International Space Station in its 25-year history. Officials have stressed it's not an emergency evacuation, as the astronaut's condition is stable. The identity of the astronaut and the nature of the problem have not been released for privacy reasons. During a change-of-command ceremony beamed down from the orbiting outpost on Monday, all seven people on board the I.S.S. spoke on camera, and none appeared obviously ill."

""Our timing of this departure is unexpected, but what was not surprising to me was how well this crew came together as a family to help each other and just take care of each other," said Cardman, "and this includes very much our teams on the ground." "We are all OK. Everyone on board is stable, safe, and well cared for," Fincke wrote in a social media post, saying that coming home early was "the right call, even if it's a bit bittersweet.""

A four-person Crew-11 team will undock from the International Space Station and splash down off the coast of California early Thursday after one crew member required an early return for medical evaluation. Crew members Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui are scheduled to come home about a month ahead of plan. Officials described the event as the first medical evacuation in the station's 25-year history and emphasized that it is not an emergency because the astronaut's condition is stable and privacy protections are in place. Two other crew members will remain on station, and a replacement four-person crew is scheduled to launch in February. NASA trains for medical contingencies and had estimated such early returns might occur infrequently.

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