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What happened
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:41 a.m. PST on Jan. 15, 2026, concluding a more than five-month International Space Station mission. The spacecraft and crew were retrieved by teams on SpaceX recovery vessels shortly after landing. The return occurred about a month earlier than planned because teams are monitoring a medical concern with one crew member, who remains stable, and NASA said it is not appropriate to share more details due to medical privacy. The crew completed more than 140 science experiments and, over 167 days, traveled nearly 71 million miles and completed more than 2,670 orbits.
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Key insights
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NASA cited medical privacy limits: NASA said it is not appropriate to share more details about the crew member’s medical concern due to medical privacy.
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NASA linked Crew-11 to Artemis II preparation: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said missions like Crew-11 support preparation for Artemis II, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and ultimately Mars.
Takeaways
Crew-11 returned safely to Earth off Southern California, with the crew scheduled for hospital evaluation and postflight reconditioning while one crew member’s medical concern continues to be monitored.