NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov touched down at 12:41am PST following more than five months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX recovery teams secured the Dragon capsule and retrieved the crew shortly after landing.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman praised both the astronauts and the teams supporting the mission on the ground.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our astronauts and the teams at NASA, SpaceX, and across our international partnerships,” Isaacman said. “Their professionalism and focus kept the mission on track, even with an adjusted timeline. Crew-11 completed more than 140 scientific investigations that advance human exploration.”
He said the mission highlighted the flexibility and resilience of the US space program, including its ability to return crews when required, launch replacement missions rapidly, and continue preparing for future deep-space exploration under the Artemis program.
The Crew-11 mission returned around a month earlier than originally planned due to a medical issue involving one crew member, who remains in a stable condition. NASA said it would not release further details due to medical privacy considerations. Ahead of the return, arrangements were made for all four astronauts to undergo additional medical evaluation on Earth, allowing access to more comprehensive medical resources.
Following an overnight stay in hospital, the crew will return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will undergo routine post-flight health checks and physical reconditioning.
Crew-11 launched on 1 August 2025 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, lifting off at 11:43am EDT. The SpaceX Dragon capsule docked with the ISS around 15 hours later, at 1:27am CDT on 2 August.
During the 167-day mission, the crew travelled nearly 71 million miles and completed more than 2,670 orbits of Earth. The flight marked Fincke’s fourth mission to space and Yui’s second, while Cardman and Platonov were making their first spaceflights. Fincke has now logged 549 days in space, placing him fourth among all NASA astronauts for total time spent off Earth.
Throughout the mission, the crew carried out hundreds of hours of scientific research, maintenance tasks, and technology demonstrations. They also marked the 25th anniversary of continuous human habitation aboard the International Space Station on 2 November 2025.
Research conducted aboard the ISS continues to expand scientific knowledge and test technologies critical to future human exploration, including missions to the moon and Mars.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program aims to provide reliable access to space by partnering with private US companies such as SpaceX to transport astronauts to and from the space station, maximising the ISS’ value as a platform for research and development.