A week after returning to Earth from the International Space Station, the four astronauts on the Crew-11 mission, who ended their mission early as a result of an undisclosed medical problem, say they feel NASA prepared them well for the first-of-its-kind emergency.
They added their optimism for how NASA will handle the upcoming Artemis II mission in which four other astronauts will travel to the moon and back.
"We’re a well-honed machine here at the Johnson Space Center and around the world," NASA astronaut Mike Fincke said during a news conference Wednesday. "When we’re getting ready for Artemis, I am very optimistic."
Another astronaut — Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui — said he was "so surprised" their training prepared them to handle the medical emergency.
"If we use this kind of experience, actually, our future human space flight, we can handle any kind of difficult situation," Yui said. "Of course, we came back early. But including this kind of decision, this is actually very, very good experience for the future human space flight."
Crew-11 launched on Aug. 1, 2025, for the International Space Station. On Jan. 8, NASA announced it would return the crew about a month early as a result of a medical concern, the first time such a decision had ever been made by NASA. The crew returned to Earth on Jan. 15, landing off the coast of San Diego. After a standard overnight stay at a hospital, the four astronauts came to the Johnson Space Center near Houston for post-flight reconditioning and evaluations.
During Wednesday's news conference, crew members said they would not disclose which astronaut had the medical emergency or what the emergency was.
"NASA made all the right decisions, in my opinion," said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, who had been preparing for her first spacewalk when the decision to return came down. "This is a really excellent example of risk analysis and decision-making, and I’m very proud of the decision they made."
In as soon as a few weeks, NASA is expected to launch its Artemis II mission, which will take four astronauts further than humans have ever been when it orbits the moon for the first time in more than a half-century.
Cardman noted that this medical emergency happened while Crew-11 was in low Earth orbit, meaning the spacecraft was still relatively close to the Earth. Artemis II will go into high Earth orbit and leave the Earth's gravitational pull entirely.
"I think the farther afield we go as we journey beyond low Earth orbit, having tools on board to diagnose and treat a myriad of situations is going to be a really interesting problem to solve," she said. "But while we’re in low Earth orbit, I think we were as well set up as we possibly could be, and I’m really proud of the way the team reacted. I would not actually want to train any differently than we already had."
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