First-ever medical evacuation sees Crew-11 Dragon Spacecraft splash land in Pacific Ocean

NASA and SpaceX have recovered a four-member crew from orbit following an unknown medical condition affecting one of its crew members.

NASA, with the help of SpaceX, has returned the Crew-11 members to Earth from the International Space Station due to a serious medical condition affecting one of the astronauts.

This cuts the mission down by a month as the crew launched in August and was planning to stay in orbit until mid-February.

NASA was forced to cancel a spacewalk due to a medical issue affecting one of its crew members.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov undocked late Wednesday (14th January, 2025).

The Crew Dragon capsule splashed down into calm waters off San Diego at roughly 12:45 a.m. EST, marking NASA’s first medical evacuation.

The trip took around 10 hours from the International Space Station and re-entered through Earth’s atmosphere, which was documented through a joint NASA-SpaceX webcast.

"Splashdown of Crew-11 after 167 days in space. Dragon and NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui of JAXA, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov are back on Earth," SpaceX commentators announced as per Space.

NASA announced on January 8th that it was “actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission,” following a medical emergency onboard.

“The matter involved a single crew member who is stable,” NASA said in a statement.

NASA hasn’t specified which crew member was affected by the medical emergency, nor has it stated what the medical incident entailed.

However, NASA has said that the medical condition isn’t an emergency situation and the crew member remains stable, according to TechStock.

This medical evacuation raises significant concerns about the safety of astronauts in space and what would happen if a serious issue were to occur while they were in orbit.

For years, media outlets have been questioning what would happen if someone had a medical emergency in space.

Zero-gravity conditions can cause the body to react in abnormal ways, including motion sickness, dizziness, vomiting, and even loss of bone mass and muscle atrophy when in space for an extended period of time.

These conditions make it challenging for even the fittest of astronauts, especially in a serious medical situation.

For example, if someone were to go into cardiac arrest, performing CPR would prove incredibly difficult due to the lack of gravity.

While not impossible – CNN Health outlines methods for performing CPR in space – it’s essential for large organizations like NASA to prioritize the health of their astronauts.

This is inevitably what prompted the decision to cut Crew-11’s voyage short.

This incident is unprecedented, as only two other missions have ended early due to medical issues: Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin in 1985 and Soviet cosmonaut Aleksandr Laveykin in 1987, who were forced to leave their missions prematurely.

As space travel becomes more commonplace, the BBC states that medical professionals will likely need to be on board space flights.

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