NASA has revealed new details about last month's rare medical evacuation from the International Space Station (ISS). According to the astronaut, NASA determined that an early, carefully coordinated return was the safest option, not an emergency, allowing the crew access to advanced medical imaging unavailable on the space station. Crew-11, which also included Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California, on January 15. While NASA has not provided details about the medical emergency, Fincke dropped a hint during Crew-11's first public appearance after returning to Earth. While the astronaut did not elaborate on the medical emergency, the fact that an ultrasound was used suggests two likely reasons.

Source: Daily Mail February 26, 2026 10:17 UTC