NASA: Astronaut’s ‘Serious Medical Concern’ Triggers Crew-11’s Early Return Home

NASA officials clarified they were not launching an emergency evacuation.

(L-R) Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Control Building at the Kennedy Space Center for Space Launch Complex 39A in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on July 31, 2025. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images

One of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) suffered what NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described as a serious medical condition on Jan. 7, triggering the first medical evacuation in the orbiting laboratory’s 25-year history.

That astronaut, and his or her condition, remains anonymous due to medical privacy. However, it appears to be one of a four-person crew who flew aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavor in August 2025.