{"id":800123,"date":"2026-01-15T04:22:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T09:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=800123"},"modified":"2026-01-15T04:22:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T09:22:36","slug":"nasas-crew-11-returns-after-shortened-5-month-space-mission-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=800123","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Crew-11 returns after shortened 5 month space mission : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \n <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

\n This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon capsule departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
\n <\/p>\n

AP\/NASA<\/p>\n

<\/b>
\n hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

toggle caption<\/b><\/b>\n <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

AP\/NASA<\/p>\n

<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Four people on NASA’s Crew-11 mission successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego in their SpaceX Dragon capsule after a nearly 10-hour journey from the International Space Station, completing the first medical evacuation from the orbiting lab.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"NASA<\/picture>\n

\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The crew undocked from the station Wednesday at 5:20 p.m. EST as the ISS and capsule flew 260 miles south of Australia.<\/p>\n

The splashdown at 3:41 a.m. EST Thursday beneath a canopy of parachutes marks the end of the Crew-11 mission, which was cut short by about a month. It’s the first time in NASA’s history that a medical issue prompted an early end to a space mission. It’s also the first medical evacuation in over a quarter-century of continuous human presence on the space station.<\/p>\n