NASA set to bring Crew-11 home early for medical evaluation

NASA is returning the four-person Crew-11 team about a month early because one crew member has an undisclosed medical condition; officials say the situation is not an emergency and the crew is expected to splash down off the coast of California, with a replacement crew scheduled to launch in February.

NASA is bringing the four-person Crew-11 team home about a month early after identifying a medical condition affecting one crew member that officials say requires evaluation on the ground. The crew includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui. Agency spokespeople have said the situation is not an emergency and that the affected astronaut's identity and the nature of the condition are being withheld for privacy. The return is scheduled with an undocking on Wednesday and an expected splashdown off the coast of California early Thursday, and a replacement four-person crew is set to launch in February. Known details: - NASA decided to return Crew-11 about a month early due to a medical concern involving one crew member. - Officials describe the situation as not an emergency and say the astronaut is stable and being cared for. - The four-person crew is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station and splash down off California, and a replacement crew launch is planned for February. - NASA officials noted this is the first medical evacuation in the station's 25 years of continuous operations. Summary: NASA says it needs to complete a full diagnostic workup on the affected astronaut using medical equipment available on the ground. The immediate status is that the crew is stable and en route to Earth, and a replacement Crew-11 team is scheduled to launch in February.