Astronauts to Return Early After Medical Issue

NASA has announced that four astronauts will be coming back to Earth by Thursday, significantly earlier than planned, following an unexplained medical issue experienced by one of the crew members.

The SpaceX Crew 11 team is set to undock from the International Space Station at around 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday. This adjustment is a departure from the original timeline. They’ll be journeying back in the Dragon spacecraft, aiming to touch down off California’s coast around 3:40 a.m. Thursday.

Nobody knows exactly what happened, but NASA mentioned that crew members are dealing with “medical concerns.” Unfortunately, details are scant due to privacy guidelines.

On a positive note, the agency reported that the astronaut in question is currently in stable condition.

Earlier this week, astronaut Mike Finke transferred command of the space station to cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov. Finke expressed his gratitude, stating, “We had a great team. Everyone really rose to the occasion on the road. I’m really happy to be here.”

Finke, alongside fellow astronaut Zena Cardman, Kamiya Yui from JAXA, and Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos, is on track to return to Japan.

Meanwhile, the three-member crew that launched into space back in November will continue their stay at the space station until another twelve-member SpaceX crew arrives in February for a nine-month mission.

The returning astronauts originally anticipated launching into space for the first time in August, with their Earth return slated for May.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman commented, “I’m proud of the swift agency-wide efforts to date to ensure the safety of our astronauts,” during a press conference discussing the sudden end of the mission last week.