An astronaut in need of medical care has returned to Earth alongside three crewmates, cutting their space station mission short by over a month in NASA's first-ever medical evacuation.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific near San Diego in the middle of the night (on Thursday 15 January), less than 11 hours after undocking from the International Space Station.
“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander, as the crew emerged one by one onto the recovery ship.
The returning astronauts include Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.
Officials have declined to identify the astronaut who required medical attention due to privacy concerns.
The re-entry and splashdown proceeded under standard procedures, with medical teams aboard the recovery ship. Further medical checks are planned at a local hospital before the astronauts return to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow remains unclear.
Jared Isaacman, NASA’s new administrator, monitored the operation from Mission Control in Houston.
NASA emphasised that this was not an emergency, though the health issue first arose on 7 January, prompting the cancellation of a planned spacewalk and eventually the early return.
"Our timing of this departure is unexpected," Cardman said before the return trip, “but what was not surprising to me was how well this crew came together as a family to help each other and just take care of each other."
The medical evacuation is a historic first for NASA, which has never cut a mission short for health reasons in its 65-year history of human spaceflight.
NASA and SpaceX now plan to move up the launch of a replacement four-person crew, currently scheduled for mid-February. Until a new crew arrives, the station will be unable to carry out spacewalks, even in an emergency.
