On Jan. 8th, 2026, NASA announced its decision to return the SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the International Space Station earlier than originally planned. This unprecedented move came after one of the crew members reportedly experienced a health-related issue that required full medical services. While the crew member (who has not been identified for privacy reasons) was reported to be in stable condition, NASA will go ahead with the early return mission. According to the latest updates, the Crew-11 mission team will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Thursday, Jan.15th. at approximately 3:40 a.m. EST (Jan. 14th, 12:40 pm PST).
The crew consists of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, who will splash down off the coast of California at approximately 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15th. NASA is also working with SpaceX and international partners to review launch options for the Crew-12 mission. This will leave the station in the hands of the remaining three flight engineers of Expedition 74, consisting of NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev.
NASA will provide coverage of the ISS change of command ceremony tomorrow, starting at 2:35 p.m. EST (11:35 a.m. PST) via NASA+ and NASA's Amazon Prime and YouTube channels. As Crew-11 prepares to depart on the following day, Fincke will hand command of Expedition 74 to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. NASA has also provided a detailed timetable for the coverage of the Crew-11 mission's return, which is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m PST) on Wednesday, Jan. 14th, and will conclude with a media conference at 5:45 a.m. EST (02:45 a.m. PST).
On Jan. 9th, Canadian astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield took to Facebook to express his support for the decision, saying:
For the first time in the 25-year history of the International Space Station, we’ve had a serious enough medical emergency in space to bring a crew home early. Big decision by @nasa leadership, with multiple domino impacts on operations, but I’m glad to see, as always, crew health and safety come first. The Station will be more vulnerable until the replacement crew of 4 can launch, but we have deep experience running the place with just 3 astronauts for a while. I hope the ill crew member gets safely home to full treatment, and has a speedy recovery.
NASA and SpaceX continue to monitor weather conditions in the splashdown zones, which are currently favorable for the return mission. For more information and updates on the mission and live coverage, check out NASA Blogs ISS page.