NASA announces timeline of astronauts' evacuation from International Space Station due to 'serious medical issue'

NASA has given an update on its plans to evacuate its team from the International Space Station.

It was announced yesterday that the team of astronauts will be coming home earlier than planned because one of the four-person crew currently on the ISS is said to have developed a 'serious medical issue'.

The team in question, called Crew-11, consists of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui from Japan's JAXA space agency, and a Russian cosmonaut, Oleg Platonov.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said of their decision: "After discussions with Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr J.D. Polk and leadership across the agency, I've come to the decision that it's in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure."

Another NASA official added, per BBC News: "This is not an emergency evacuation. We always err on the side of the astronaut's health."

The Crew-11 team pictured in August 2025 (Austin DeSisto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The upcoming evacuation marks the first time in NASA's 65-year history that a mission has been forced to return early due to a medical problem.

The agency has not named the affected astronaut or given more details on the issue, as it was deemed 'not appropriate' to do so.

The announcement came just 48 hours after NASA canceled a scheduled spacewalk that was due to take place on January 8, as there was a 'medical concern'.

Fincke and Cardman were reportedly the ones who were supposed to carry out the 6.5-hour spacewalk, which would have seen them install new hardware on the outside of the orbiting station.

In a more recent update, NASA laid out a timeline for the astronauts' return.

The agency said in a news release: "NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 14, for the undocking of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International Space Station, pending weather conditions."

There are currently seven spaceships are parked at the ISS (NASA)

It added: "NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will splash down off the coast of California at approximately 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15.

"Mission managers continue monitoring conditions in the recovery area, as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors.

"NASA and SpaceX will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-11 spacecraft undocking."

Once they return to Earth on January 15, the agency is expected to hold a news conference at 5:45am (EST).