NASA orders four astronauts to return early from their six-day space station mission due to a medical issue.
Four astronauts who spent months in orbit are safely back on Earth, wrapping up a shortened stay in space. Commander Zena Cardman, co-pilot Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego early Thursday morning after NASA ordered them to return home early due to a medical concern.
The astronauts were scheduled to spend 167 days in space but their stay was cut short when one of the crew members experienced a medical issue. The next day, NASA managers decided to bring the crew back to Earth for further evaluation.
Crew 11, who launched on August 1, 2025, and were originally expected to return around February 20, returned safely after being in space for five-and-a-half months. Despite the sudden change of plans, all four astronauts looked healthy and happy as they began adjusting to gravity again after a prolonged stay in weightlessness.
"We're glad to be back on Earth," Fincke said in a statement on LinkedIn. "It was the right call."
The crew's return marks the end of their mission, which included conducting scientific experiments and performing maintenance tasks on the space station. The astronauts will undergo further medical checks at an unidentified hospital before returning to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Their departure also means that the Russian Soyuz MS-28 crew, who were launched last November for a planned eight-month stay, will have the International Space Station to themselves until Crew 12 arrives next month.
Four astronauts who spent months in orbit are safely back on Earth, wrapping up a shortened stay in space. Commander Zena Cardman, co-pilot Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego early Thursday morning after NASA ordered them to return home early due to a medical concern.
The astronauts were scheduled to spend 167 days in space but their stay was cut short when one of the crew members experienced a medical issue. The next day, NASA managers decided to bring the crew back to Earth for further evaluation.
Crew 11, who launched on August 1, 2025, and were originally expected to return around February 20, returned safely after being in space for five-and-a-half months. Despite the sudden change of plans, all four astronauts looked healthy and happy as they began adjusting to gravity again after a prolonged stay in weightlessness.
"We're glad to be back on Earth," Fincke said in a statement on LinkedIn. "It was the right call."
The crew's return marks the end of their mission, which included conducting scientific experiments and performing maintenance tasks on the space station. The astronauts will undergo further medical checks at an unidentified hospital before returning to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Their departure also means that the Russian Soyuz MS-28 crew, who were launched last November for a planned eight-month stay, will have the International Space Station to themselves until Crew 12 arrives next month.
? i feel bad for those astronauts, they must be super relieved to be back on earth but also kinda bummed that their mission got cut short 
. nasa did the right thing though, safety first, you know? 
anyway, it's gonna be interesting to see what the medical issue was and how they're doing after that 
. and now we get to wait for crew 12 to arrive...anyone else excited for new space adventures? 
Interesting they had to cut their mission short due to a medical issue... hope everything is okay with the astronaut 
! can u even imagine being up there in space 4 so long? i mean idk how they do it 
. but seriously tho, glad every1 is safe & sound 
on earth again. medics r the real heroes 
, saving lives left & right 
& can get back to their space adventures soon 
anyway, glad all 4 astronauts are safe and sound on earth 
! the fact that crew 11 gets to return home early is also kinda cool i guess, but still can't help feeling like they missed out on some epic space stuff 
and now they're back on Earth before they even got to do most of their experiments 
. I wonder what kinda medical issue they're dealing with 
. Can't wait to see the footage of them readjusting to gravity again 
of course, it's always something with the space program... can't even spend six days without something going sideways 
. Glad everyone is safe though, that's what matters 
. I mean, who needs a 167-day mission when you gotta bring them home early because one guy's got a medical issue? 
. Can't say I'm surprised though, space travel is always a gamble with your health 
and it's so cool that they got to conduct some awesome experiments and maintenance tasks on the space station 
that would be a total bummer for scientists and anyone who's excited about space exploration 
but at the same time, safety first, right? 
still think about all the cool stuff they must've seen from up there tho 
Just great, another space mission messed up by NASA's overcautiousness... 
and those astronauts looked pretty chill after being back in gravity for a while too 
.
. Like, what even happened with this medical issue? Were they experiencing some kind of space-radiation-related problem or something? The world might not be ready for it yet 
can't even imagine being in space for months and having to come back home early 
at least they're safe tho, that's what matters 
anyway, hope the Russian cosmonauts get to enjoy the ISS for a bit longer before crew 12 arrives 
It's all about safety, I guess... but honestly, it feels like they're not even trying to be realistic here. 
...
? It's like, come on NASA! Can't you guys coordinate better?! The ISS is like a revolving door right now... 
who's ready for the next crew 12 mission tho? 
. The astronauts seem cool about it, but I'm sure it was a wild ride to have their stay cut short 
and undergo some extra checks at the hospital 
. You feel bad for Crew 12 though, gotta wait another month for them to arrive and get their turn in space 
.