NASA crew evacuated from ISS: What time will astronauts return, who is left and media briefing schedule

NASA has carried out a medical evacuation for the first time in the history of the International Space Station on January 14. Crew 11 is on its way to splashing down after its time on the observatory in orbit was cut short after one of the astronauts faced a health issue. The crew comprises US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yu. NASA has not confirmed which of them faced the problem and the nature of the health scare. Crew-11's Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, undocked at 5:20 pm EST. The spacecraft will face around an 11-hour deorbit trajectory, and is expected to splash down on Thursday (January 15) at 3:41 am EST. A post-landing press conference is scheduled for 5:45 am EST, in which the space agency is expected to share all details of the problem that occurred on the space station.

NASA medical evacuation from ISS

The crew was launched on August 1, 2025, and was supposed to spend six months in space. On January 8, a spacewalk was supposed to take place, to be carried out by Mike Fincke, the ISS commander, and flight engineer Zena Cardman. However, a few hours before it was to start, a medical problem arose, after which it was cancelled. Later, the space agency announced that it would be returning the crew in the next few days because of a health problem. Dr James Polk, NASA's chief health and medical officer, said at the time that it was not an emergency, but they were "erring on the side of caution for the crew member".

Also Read: NASA evacuating ISS crew on medical grounds for the first time

Who is left on the ISS? Is the space station empty?

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the end of the mission and that the spacewalk had been cancelled. A change of command ceremony took plance and Fincke handed over the symbolic ISS key to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchov. "I'm proud of the swift effort across the agency thus far to ensure the safety of our astronauts," Isaacman said. The early return means that the ISS is without a new crew as the next one will not launch before February 15. The ISS now has only three people on board - Kud-Sverchov and fellow cosmonaut Sergei Mikaev, as well as NASA astronaut Chris Williams.