Four astronauts depart ISS due to medical issue

NASA has brought back a four-member astronaut crew to Earth due to a medical issue, marking the first such early return in the history of the International Space Station.

News Agency of Nigeria • January 15, 2026

U.S astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov[Credit: BBC]

NASA has brought back a four-member astronaut crew to Earth due to a medical issue, marking the first such early return in the history of the International Space Station.

The astronauts undocked from the ISS aboard a Crew Dragon capsule operated by SpaceX, the company of tech billionaire Elon Musk, NASA live footage showed.

U.S astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov are expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the U.S. state of California after about 11 hours of flight on Thursday.

NASA said last week it had first cancelled a spacewalk at the ISS at short notice due to health concerns involving one crew member, before deciding to return the entire four-person crew to Earth ahead of schedule.

The agency declined to identify the affected crew member or provide details about the medical issue, stating that the crew member was in stable condition.

Crew-11 has been aboard the ISS since early August and had been scheduled to remain there for several more weeks.

(dpa/NAN)

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