January 13, 2026 | 05:26 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has, for the first time in history, evacuated astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) for medical reasons. The decision was made following a critical situation involving one of the astronauts, leading to the early return of a total of four crew members to Earth.
For privacy reasons, NASA has not disclosed detailed information about the astronaut's medical condition or identity. However, the agency has stated that the astronaut's condition is stable and not life-threatening.
The evacuated astronaut was part of the Crew-11 mission launched on August 1, 2025. They were originally scheduled to return at the end of February. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated that the decision to bring the crew back early was also influenced by the near completion of almost all mission objectives.
“Because the astronaut is absolutely stable, this is not an emergent evacuation,” said NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer James Polk, as quoted from New Scientist on January 9, 2026. “We’re not immediately disembarking and getting the astronaut down.”
Isaacman explained that an actual emergency medical evacuation could be performed within hours, but NASA opted to bring the crew back in the coming days due to the assessed manageable conditions.
According to Polk, despite being equipped with adequate medical facilities, the ISS still has limitations. "We don’t have the complete amount of hardware that I would have in the emergency department, for example, to complete a workup of the patient," he said. The best way to address medical issues is still on Earth.
The four members of Crew-11, comprising two NASA astronauts, one Russian cosmonaut, and one Japanese astronaut, will return using the same Dragon spacecraft they used to travel to the ISS. Medical facilities on Earth have been prepared to handle the affected astronaut.
Although this situation has not occurred before, Isaacman emphasized that the crew's return process is not significantly different from the normal end-of-mission procedures. “In the 25 years of the history of the International Space Station we’ve had many models… that have said that we should’ve had a medical evacuation approximately every three years… and we’ve not had one to date,” said Polk.
This evacuation will leave one NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts on the ISS until the arrival of the Crew-12 mission. The Crew-12 spacecraft, originally scheduled to depart on February 15, 2025, is now potentially being advanced.
Read: NASA Bans Chinese Nationals Amid Rising "Space Race" Tensions
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