NASA may end an International Space Station (ISS) mission early due to an an early return of crew members from the space station after a medical issue affected one of four astronauts aboard the Crew-11 mission.
The unnamed astronaut is currently stable; however, the situation prompted NASA to cancel the spacewalk at the last minute.
Currently, the space agency is evaluating whether the safest option is to bring the entire Crew 11 team back to Earth months before the schedule. Three members of another crew would remain on board.
A NASA spokeswoman highlighted that safety is the only priority and that all options, including ending the mission ahead of schedule, are currently being reviewed.
However, the details regarding the illness remain under wraps.
Crew-11 includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
The team launched to the ISS in August 2025 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon and was likely to return by the end of February 2026 after getting replaced by another crew.
If Crew-11 returns early, the remaining astronauts include NASA’s Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, would stay to contine the mission.
Space experts stated that all four Crew-11 members will expectedly return together instead of leaving one behind.
The ISS has medical equipment and communication systems that lets doctors on Earth to consult astronauts remotely.
Though an early comeback would delay some experiments, with the remaining crew focusing on essential maintenance until the launch of replacements.
