International Space Station crew to return early after astronaut medical issueListen to this articleCrew-11 mission astronauts departed the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Aug 1, 2025. WASHINGTON (UNITED STATES) - Nasa crewmembers at the International Space Station (ISS) will return to Earth within days after an astronaut suffered a health issue, the US space agency said on Thursday, the first such medical evacuation in the orbital lab's history. Nasa chief medical officer James Polk said "lingering risk" and a "lingering question as to what that diagnosis is" led to the decision to return early. Once the situation on the station stabilised, careful deliberations led us to the decision to return Crew 11... while ensuring minimal operational impact to ongoing work aboard." Such journeys generally last approximately six months, and this crew was already due to return in the coming weeks.

Source: Bangkok Post January 09, 2026 15:07 UTC