NASA: Space station crew to return to Earth earlier than planned following medical issue

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The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking in November 2018. (Credit: NASA/Roscosmos)

NASA announced on Thursday the U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four aboard the International Space Station would be returning to Earth earlier than expected after one of the astronuats had a medical issue. 

 NASA canceled its first spacewalk of the year because of the health issue. The space agency did not identify the astronaut or the medical issue, citing patient privacy. The crew member is now stable.

What they're saying:

"It's not an emergency evacuation, but we are erring on the side of caution for the crew member," said Dr. James Polk, NASA's chief health and medical officer.

In a previous statement, NASA revealed it was "monitoring a medical concern with a crew member that arose Wednesday afternoon."

Crew-11 mission astronauts walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building before heading to pad 39A for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) at the Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 1, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Paul

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The four-person Crew-11 crew consists of U.S. astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yu.

NASA says crew-11 is the 11th crew rotation mission of SpaceX's human space transportation system and the 12th flight with astronauts to the ISS through NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Crew-11 is scheduled to return to Earth in February.