NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Mission Returns to Earth Early After 167 Days in Space

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 mission successfully concluded early Thursday morning with a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, marking the end of a 167-day stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The crew, NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (mission commander) and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, returned to Earth at 12:41 a.m. PST (2:11 p.m. IST). SpaceX recovery teams aboard vessels quickly retrieved the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, and assisted the crew members following their descent under parachutes.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our astronauts and the teams on the ground at NASA, SpaceX, and across our international partnerships,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Their professionalism and focus kept the mission on track, even with an adjusted timeline. Crew-11 completed more than 140 science experiments that advance human exploration. Missions like Crew-11 demonstrate the capability inherent in America’s space program—our ability to bring astronauts home as needed, launch new crews quickly, and continue pushing forward on human spaceflight as we prepare for our historic Artemis II mission, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and ultimately Mars.”

The mission returned approximately one month ahead of its original schedule due to a medical concern affecting one crew member, who remains stable. NASA has not disclosed further details out of respect for medical privacy. Prior to re-entry, the agency coordinated for all four astronauts to undergo evaluation at a local hospital upon landing to ensure optimal care using Earth-based medical resources.

After an overnight hospital stay for observation, the crew will travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for standard post-flight reconditioning, debriefings, and further medical assessments.

Crew-11 launched on August 1, 2025, at 11:43 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Dragon spacecraft docked autonomously with the ISS about 15 hours later, at 1:27 a.m. CDT on August 2.

During their time in orbit, the crew travelled nearly 71 million miles, completed more than 2,670 orbits around Earth, and contributed hundreds of hours to research, station maintenance, and technology demonstrations. Highlights included celebrating the 25th anniversary of continuous human presence on the ISS on November 2, 2025. The experiments conducted support preparations for future deep-space missions to the Moon and Mars.

This marked Fincke’s fourth spaceflight (bringing his career total to 549 days in space, ranking him fourth among NASA astronauts), Yui’s second, and the first for both Cardman and Platonov.

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