{"id":372236,"date":"2026-01-15T23:29:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T23:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/372236\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T23:29:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T23:29:15","slug":"nasa-astronauts-return-to-earth-after-evacuation-from-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/372236\/","title":{"rendered":"Nasa astronauts return to Earth after evacuation from space"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four crew members from the International Space Station have returned safely to Earth, completing the first medical evacuation in the 65-year history of human spaceflight.<\/p>\n

The splashdown of Crew 11 off the coast of California at 12.41am local time (8.41am GMT) brought an early end to their time in orbit, after an unspecified medical incident \u2014 described by the head of Nasa as \u201cserious\u201d \u2013\u2013 prompted their return.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of SpaceX and Nasa, welcome home,\u201d SpaceX mission control told the crew.<\/p>\n

\"NASA<\/p>\n

Zena Cardman is helped out of the SpaceX capsule<\/p>\n

NASA\/AP<\/p>\n

Zena Cardman, the mission commander, replied: \u201cIt\u2019s so good to be home, with deep gratitude to the teams who got us there and back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, also containing Cardman\u2019s American crewmate Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui from Japan and Oleg Platonov, from Russia, streaked across the night sky over California in a blazing ball of plasma as it re-entered Earth\u2019s atmosphere, reaching exterior temperatures up to 1,900C (3,500F) before parachutes deployed to slow its descent.<\/p>\n

Their safe arrival ended a 167-day mission that took them 2,672 times around the Earth \u2014 a total journey of 70.8 million miles (113.9 million kilometres). Dolphins darted and leaped around the capsule as it bobbed in the Pacific Ocean, awaiting retrieval and transfer to a recovery ship.<\/p>\n

Jared Isaacman, Nasa\u2019s administrator, commended the crew and ground personnel from Nasa and SpaceX, who worked together to execute the hastily arranged homecoming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching it play out, from the time of the original situation developing to getting our astronauts safely in the water and on their way to medical care was executed near flawlessly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we took this action because it was a serious medical condition \u2026 it was a serious situation. The astronaut in question is fine right now, in good spirits and going through the proper medical checkouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Astronaut\"Astronaut\"Astronaut<\/p>\n

All four crew members smiled and waved as they were helped out of the capsule and, in line with protocol, taken away on gurneys for initial check-ups in the recovery ship\u2019s medical quarters.<\/p>\n

They were then due to be taken by helicopter to San Diego, California, where they will all spend a night in hospital for \u201ccontinued monitoring and checkouts using medical equipment not available aboard the space station\u201d, said Leah Cheshier, a Nasa public affairs officer. On Friday, they will be flown home to Houston, Texas, to be reunited with their families.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sign up for The Times\u2019s weekly US newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

Nasa has been fiercely protective of the sick crew member\u2019s identity, to ensure their medical privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crew member is stable and we were able to monitor their condition in orbit, but we want to take advantage of resources on Earth to provide the best care possible,\u201d Cheshier explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cNasa maintains relationships with local hospitals to ensure readiness for any post-landing needs and for this return we are utilising that option,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The crew\u2019s work during the five-month stay aboard the ISS included 140 science experiments and technology demonstrations, including studies that could help develop new strategies in the treatment and prevention of bone loss and research into growing human tissues and organs in microgravity conditions.<\/p>\n

\"Astronauts<\/p>\n

Crew 11 prepare to make their journey home, boarding the SpaceX capsule that will carry them back to Earth<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The SpaceX capsule undocking from the ISS<\/p>\n

Nasa\u2019s Crew 11 begins their journey back to Earth on board the SpaceX capsule<\/p>\n

The individual is not considered an emergency case but the decision to bring them home was due to what Nasa\u2019s chief medical officer, James Polk, described last week as \u201clingering risk\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Inside Nasa\u2019s first medical evacuation from space<\/a><\/p>\n

The incident \u2014 which was not accident-related \u2014 manifested suddenly last Thursday, on the eve of a scheduled 6.5-hour spacewalk by Cardman, 38, and Fincke, 58, to prepare exterior hardware in readiness for the installation of new solar arrays.<\/p>\n

Nasa<\/a> did not broadcast the crew\u2019s exit from the ISS on Wednesday, when those departing traditionally exchange farewell hugs and handshakes with the remaining ISS crew before floating through the hatch to board their transport.<\/p>\n

The space agency\u2019s livestream began by showing Cardman, Crew 11\u2019s commander, and Fincke, the pilot, already seated and their colleagues floating while preparing to take their positions.<\/p>\n

Joel Montalbano, a deputy administrator at Nasa, said of the crew: \u201cThey were sad, of course, but they were ready \u2026 I will tell you they were even cracking jokes a couple of times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yui, an astronaut with the Japanese space agency, stated in his final social media post from the station\u2019s Kibo science laboratory on Wednesday: \u201cThe days I worked here were, I think, the most shining moments in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI am truly grateful to everyone for all the support you gave me. Let\u2019s meet again on the most beautiful star in the vast universe, Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four crew members from the International Space Station have returned safely to Earth, completing the first medical evacuation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-372236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}