At Cape Canaveral, Florida, an astronaut in need of medical attention made a premature return to Earth alongside three colleagues on Thursday, concluding their mission at the space station over a month ahead of schedule. This marked NASA’s inaugural medical evacuation from space.

SpaceX expertly maneuvered the capsule for a nighttime splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, occurring less than 11 hours after the crew departed the International Space Station.

“It’s wonderful to be back home,” expressed NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, who commanded the capsule.

The mission, which commenced in August, came to an unforeseen conclusion, leaving the space station with a reduced crew of just one American and two Russians. In response, NASA and SpaceX are attempting to expedite the launch of a new four-member crew, with liftoff tentatively set for mid-February.

Joining NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke on the return journey were Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Due to medical privacy concerns, officials have not disclosed the identity of the astronaut with the health issue or the specifics of the situation.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the
astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.
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