On January 15, a crew of four astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) returned to Earth, marking the first time that NASA has ever cut a mission short due to a non-life-threatening medical complication. The crew consisted of Americans Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov. NASA chose not to disclose which astronaut had the health issue for the sake of the astronaut’s privacy. 

The crew originally launched in August of 2025 and had planned to return by the end of February. On January 8, Finicke and Cardman were scheduled to have a space walk, an activity where the astronauts leave the spacecraft for the purpose of installing additional solar panels on the ISS. NASA canceled the space walk before announcing the crew’s return.

Computer modeling had predicted that a medical evacuation would be necessary from the ISS every 3 years; however, in its 27 year history and NASA’s 65 years of human space flight, this is the first. Despite the success of the ISS and NASA, other aeronautical organizations have had less luck. Russia has had to cut multiple space missions short due to medical issues throughout the years. 

The ill astronaut is in stable condition and received treatment as soon as the crew disembarked. While the ISS continues to be occupied by three other astronauts who are about two months into an eight month mission, SpaceX and NASA are working to expedite a launch of a fresh four person crew to replace the recalled astronauts.