---
title: "NASA considers rare early ISS crew return due to astronaut’s medical issue"
description: "NASA is considering a rare early return of an astronaut and its crew from the International Space Station (ISS) over an unspecified medical issue, hours after cancelling a planned spacewalk that had been scheduled for Thursday, the agency said."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "World"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-08-nasa-considers-rare-early-iss-crew-return-due-to-astronauts-medical-issue/"
published: "2026-01-08T11:34:11"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 108
---

# NASA considers rare early ISS crew return due to astronaut’s medical issue

> NASA is considering a rare early return of an astronaut and its crew from the International Space Station (ISS) over an unspecified medical issue, hours after cancelling a planned spacewalk that had been scheduled for Thursday, the agency said.

By Reuters · Published 8 January 2026, 13:34 SAST

## Content

A NASA spokeswoman said the astronaut, who she did not identify out of medical privacy, was in a stable condition on the orbiting laboratory.

"Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission," the spokeswoman said in a statement on Wednesday night.

Returning the four-person Crew-11 crew would be a rare consequence of a medical issue aboard the ISS, where astronauts typically live in six to eight-month rotations with access to basic medical equipment and medications for some types of emergencies.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Stephen Coates)