Incredible moment Crew-11 splashes down to Earth after ISS mission cut short by medical issue
Ellie Kemp
Featured Image Credit: NASA/YouTube
The four astronauts on an ISS mission cut short over medical concerns have safely splashed down to Earth.
Crew-11, consisting of NASA's Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Japan's Kimiya Yui, and Russia's Oleg Platonov, landed at the International Space Station on August 1.
They were due to complete a six-and-a-half-month stay, but had to abandon the mission a month early due to a 'serious health condition' impacting one of the astronauts.
It was the first time in history the ISS, which has been constantly occupied since 2000, had been evacuated early, the BBC reports.
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Last week, a scheduled spacewalk by Fincke and Cardman was scrapped last minute. Shortly after, NASA confirmed the ISS mission would be brought to a premature end.
NASA officials clarified: "This is not an emergency evacuation. We always err on the side of the astronaut's health."
Exact details on the medical issue and who was impacted remain unknown, however the space agency said it was neither an injury nor related to space operations.
In a social media post, NASA's Fincke stressed all crew members onboard were 'stable, safe and well cared for.'
On Thursday morning (January 15), a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Crew-11 safely landed in the Pacific Ocean.
NASA confirmed the news via X, formerly Twitter, writing: "Welcome home, Crew-11! At 3:41am ET (0841 UTC), the @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California!"
As it flew across the night sky before landing, locals captured the incredible orange streak it created.
NASA's Spaceflight YouTube channel live-broadcasted the descent, capturing the exact moment of splashdown.
You can watch the awe-inspiring moment below.
— NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) January 15, 2026
Crew-11 SPLASHDOWN. pic.twitter.com/wjqJOLUfe1
Crew-11's early departure leaves NASA's Christopher Williams and cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev to helm the ISS. They arrived on November 27.
Fincke described handing over control of the ISS as 'bittersweet' last week.
Kud-Sverchkov said: "Despite all the changes and all the difficulties, we are going to do our job onboard ISS, performing all the scientific tasks, maintenance tasks here, whatever happens."
Crew-12 is due to launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral on February 15.
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot respectively, while European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev will both serve as mission specialists.
The early evacuation comes 10 months after stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams finally landed back home.
The NASA astronauts' eight -day mission turned into a nine month nightmare after their ride back to Earth, Boeing's Starliner capsule, experienced significant technical issues.
It was, in fact, a SpaceX Dragon capsule that safely brought them back.