First in history; Crew 11 spacecraft reaches earth with sick astronaut, splashes down in sea

CALIFORNIA: The Crew-11 mission team, which cut short its task due to health issues of one of the astronauts, has returned safely to the earth. The spacecraft splashed down off the coast of California at around 2:45 pm Indian time. One astronaut who needed treatment and three others returned. This is the first time in history that a mission has to be cut short and returned to earth due to health issues of an astronaut.

The Crew-11 mission consists of four astronauts from the US, Russia, and Japan. Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui, and Oleg Platonov returned. They are returning in Elon Musk's SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. With their return, NASA's Chris Williams and two Russian tourists are the only remaining astronauts on the space station.

The crew landed on earth after a 10-and-a-half-hour flight from the space station. The spacecraft separated from the station over Australia. The Crew 11 mission arrived at the space station in August 2025. It was planned to remain in space until the end of February 2026. However, the return was postponed after one of the crew members required medical attention. NASA has not disclosed which of the crew members needed medical attention or what their illness was, out of respect for privacy.