Elon Musk’s SpaceX accomplished a significant feat by safely returning four NASA astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) in the first-ever medical evacuation. The returning astronauts included Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke from NASA, Kimiya Yui from JAXA, and Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos. They landed at 12:41 a.m. PST aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.
Following the successful return, NASA announced the astronauts’ safe splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California. SpaceX also confirmed the event, emphasizing the return of Dragon and NASA’s Crew-11 to Earth. This mission marked the conclusion of the astronauts’ more than five-month stay aboard the ISS, with only three crew members remaining on the space station until the arrival of a new crew next month.
The returning crew members will undergo additional evaluation at a local hospital to ensure their well-being post-space travel. NASA expressed gratitude for the safe return of Crew-11, highlighting the importance of the US space program’s ability to bring astronauts back safely. Administrator Jared Isaacman praised the team’s accomplishments, emphasizing the mission’s contributions to human exploration and the future Artemis II mission.
During their 167-day mission, the Crew-11 members covered a distance of nearly 71 million miles and completed over 2,670 orbits around Earth. This mission marked Fincke’s fourth spaceflight, Yui’s second, and the first space journey for Cardman and Platonov. Fincke’s cumulative days in space now rank him fourth among all NASA astronauts.
