- Four astronauts, including one requiring medical attention, departed the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday for an early return to Earth.
- The crew, comprising members from the US, Russia, and Japan, is scheduled for a splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego early on Thursday.
- NASA officials have not disclosed the identity of the ailing astronaut or the nature of their health concerns, citing medical privacy, but confirmed the individual is stable.
- This marks NASA's first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight, cutting short the mission by over a month for the returning crew.
- The decision, made by new NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, temporarily reduces the ISS crew size and will halt routine spacewalks until a new crew arrives.
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