NASA’s first medical evacuation from the ISS takes place this week. Here’s what we know

For the first timeA crew of astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) is set to return to Earth earlier than expected due to a medical issue.

Crew 11, which includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, will leave the ISS no earlier than 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to NASA. They were supposed to stay aboard the space station until mid-February, but the agency opted to bring them home early after one of them fell ill on January 7.

NASA has not released the name of the sick astronaut or any specific details about their condition, but agency officials have repeatedly said they are stable. Mission pilot Fincke reiterated NASA’s assurances in LinkedIn post job on Sunday.

“First and foremost, we are all okay,” he wrote. “Everyone on board is stable, safe and well cared for. This was a deliberate decision to allow appropriate medical assessments to take place in the field, where the full range of diagnostic capabilities exist. It is the right decision, even if it is a little bittersweet.”

Crew-11, prepare for departure

Crew 11 is currently scheduled to land off the coast of California on Thursday around 3:40 a.m. ET, but this is subject to change as NASA actively monitors weather and sea conditions in the landing area. Agency officials will announce a more specific time and location, closer to Crew-11’s undocking.

At the moment, the four astronauts are busy preparation for their flight back to Earth, checking the fit and function of their spacesuits and packing their personal belongings. At the same time, they monitored the daily operations of the space station, including spacesuit maintenance and research tasks.

When they depart, the Crew-11 astronauts will leave behind Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev and NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who will remain aboard the ISS to complete their six-month mission that began in late November. Monday afternoon, Space Station Commander Fincke handed over his authority over Kud-Sverchkov.

“Thank you all so much for your hard work, for your help and for all the fantastic science and exploration we worked on together. It was really fun,” Fincke told his fellow astronauts during the change of command ceremony. “Some of the jokes weren’t very good, but I’ll keep trying.”

Before this medical problem occurred, Fincke was prepares to dress for his 10th spacewalk alongside Cardman. The EVA would have tied Fincke with Peggy Whitson for the most spacewalks by a NASA astronaut.

Provisional timeline of the return mission

NASA will provide live coverage of Crew-11’s return flight, including closing the hatches, undocking of Crew Dragon and re-entry of the spacecraft. The agency hasn’t yet shared links to its coverage, but you’ll likely be able to watch it via NASA+ or that of the agency YouTube channel.

A rough timeline for Crew-11 return flight coverage, provided NASA sticks to the current plan, is as follows (all times are ET):

Wednesday January 14

• 3:00 p.m. – Hatch closing coverage begins
• 3:30 p.m. – Closing the hatches
• 4:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage begins
• 5:00 p.m. – Undocking

Thursday January 15

• 02:15 – Return coverage begins
• 02:50 – Deorbit burn
• 3:40 a.m. – Landing
• 5:45 a.m. – Return to Earth press conference

A SpaceX recovery ship will be waiting to retrieve the Dragon capsule and its crew from the landing zone. As always, medical personnel will be on board this ship to examine the astronauts after they exit the capsule.

NASA has been preparing for this scenario since the launch of the first ISS crew 25 years ago. The fact that this is the first medical evacuation the agency has had to conduct is a testament to the safety of the space station. Statistically, such evacuations should occur about once every three years, according to NASA’s chief medical officer, Dr. James Polk.

Even so, Crew-11’s rapid return underscores why NASA builds redundancy and contingency plans into every human spaceflight mission and will serve as an important real-world test of the agency’s evacuation protocol.