NASA triggers medical evacuation of astronauts on board ISS

NASA has just revealed that the crew of the International Space Station was being evacuated for the first time in history after one of the astronauts suffered a medical emergency.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said in a press conference Thursday that Crew-11 would not continue its mission until its scheduled return date in February, and that the steps for their safe return was currently in the planning phase.

The announcement came less than a day after NASA cancelled a Thursday spacewalk due to the medical issue, with officials saying they were ‘erring on the side of caution for the crew member.’

Crew-11 includes four astronauts: NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

The group was recently joined by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who arrived at the station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in November 2025.

Isaacman said that Williams will remain on the station with the Soyuz crew to maintain America’s presence in space.

While the astronaut who suffered the medical issue was not revealed, NASA’s chief medical officer Dr James Polk said the astronaut was not in any immediate danger and was being brought home out of an abundance of caution.

NASA officials noted that no special precautions would need to be taken to keep the affected astronaut safe until their return and called their condition ‘stable’ until the evacuation plan is finalized.  

This is a breaking story. More details to follow.

NASA has never had to bring an astronaut home for medical reasons, but an evacuation plan has been built into every ISS mission, with crew return vehicles kept on standby.

‘We are looking the correct opportunity to use our existing landing sites,’ Isaacman said when asked if NASA would be making an emergency landing to get Crew-11 home faster.

‘I´m proud of the swift effort across the agency thus far to ensure the safety of our astronauts,’ the NASA chief added. 

The NASA administrator did note that the space agency did consider this a ‘serious medical condition’ which forced officials to conclude that the first ever evacuation was necessary.

However, Dr Polk stressed that the astronaut’s was not in immediate danger which would force NASA to consider rushing the evacuation.

‘The crew member is absolutely stable, so I don’t foresee massive changes to the timeline or their activities,’ Polk said.

Crew-11 arrived at the ISS on August 1, 2025, meaning their return date had been scheduled for late February.

The four astronauts would supposed to leave after Crew-12 arrived on a SpaceX Dragon capsule no earlier than February 15.