NASA is considering a rare early return of its crew from the International Space Station over an unspecified medical issue involving one of the astronauts, after canceling a planned spacewalk that had been scheduled for Thursday, January 8, 2026.
A NASA spokesperson confirmed that the medical situation aboard the International Space Station involved a single crew member who is currently stable. The space agency has not identified the astronaut in question or disclosed the nature of the medical concern, citing standard privacy protocols.
"Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11 mission," NASA said in an official statement. The agency added that these are situations NASA and its international partners train for and prepare to execute safely.
The four-person Crew-11 team consists of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. The crew launched to the ISS in August 2025 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and were originally expected to remain in orbit until late February 2026.
NASA said in an earlier statement that the agency was monitoring a medical concern with a crew member that arose Wednesday afternoon. Station Commander Mike Fincke, 58, and Flight Engineer Zena Cardman, 38, had been scheduled to conduct their mission first spacewalk on Thursday, but the event was postponed.
Astronauts typically live in six to eight-month rotations on the ISS, with access to basic medical equipment and medications for some types of emergencies. If the mission were to end early, all four astronauts on Crew-11 would be brought home together, according to space experts.
NASA has promised to provide further updates within the next 24 hours. The next planned flight to the ISS is the SpaceX Crew-12 mission, currently slated to launch no earlier than February 15, 2026.
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