CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – An astronaut in need of doctors' care departed the International Space Station with three crewmates on Wednesday in NASA's first medical evacuation.

The four returning astronauts – from the US, Russia, and Japan – are aiming for an early Thursday morning splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego with SpaceX. The decision cuts short their mission by over a month.

"Our timing of this departure is unexpected," NASA astronaut Zena Cardman said before the return trip, "but what was not surprising to me was how well this crew came together as a family to help each other and just take care of each other."

Related: NASA Evacuating ISS Crew After Unprecedented Medical Situation

Officials refused to identify the astronaut who needed care last week and would not divulge the health concerns.

The ailing astronaut is "stable, safe and well cared for," outgoing space station commander Mike Fincke said earlier this week via social media.

"This was a deliberate decision to allow the right medical evaluations to happen on the ground, where the full range of diagnostic capability exists."

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 undocking
The SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday 14 January. (NASA)

NASA said it would stick to the same entry and splashdown procedures at flight's end, with the usual assortment of medical experts aboard the recovery ship in the Pacific.

Splashdown of Crew-11 off the coast of California is scheduled for approximately 08:40 UTC (03:40 EST) on Thursday 15 January.

Watch the crew's return below:

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Launched in August, Cardman, Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui, and Russia's Oleg Platonov should have remained on the space station until late February. But on Jan. 7, NASA abruptly canceled the next day's spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke and later announced the crew's early return.

Officials said the health problem was unrelated to spacewalk preparations or other station operations, but offered no other details, citing medical privacy. They stressed it was not an emergency situation.

One US and two Russian astronauts remain aboard the orbiting lab, just 1 1/2 months into an eight-month mission that began with a Soyuz rocket liftoff from Kazakhstan. NASA and SpaceX are working to advance the launch of a fresh four-person crew from Florida, currently targeted for mid-February.

Computer modeling predicted a medical evacuation from the space station every three years, but NASA hasn't had one in its 65 years of human spaceflight. The Russians have not been as fortunate.

In 1985, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin came down with a serious infection or related illness aboard his country's Salyut 7 space station, prompting an early return. A few other Soviet cosmonauts encountered less serious health issues that shortened their flights.

It was the first spaceflight for Cardman, 38, a biologist and polar explorer who missed out on spacewalking, as well as Platonov, 39, a former fighter pilot with the Russian Air Force who had to wait a few extra years to get to space because of an undisclosed health issue.

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Cardman should have launched last year but was bumped to make room on the way down for NASA's Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were stuck nearly a year at the space station because of Boeing's capsule problems.

Fincke, 58, a retired Air Force colonel, and Yui, 55, a retired fighter pilot with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, were repeat space fliers.

Last week, Yui celebrated his 300th day in space over two station stays, sharing stunning views of Earth, including Japan's Mount Fuji and breathtaking auroras.

"I want to burn it firmly into my eyes, and even more so, into my heart," Yui said on the social platform X. "Soon, I too will become one of those small lights on the ground."

NASA officials said it was riskier to leave the astronaut in space without proper medical attention for another month than to temporarily reduce the space station crew by more than half.

Until SpaceX delivers another crew, NASA said it will have to stand down from any routine or even emergency spacewalks, a two-person job requiring backup help from crew inside the orbiting complex.

"The health and the well-being of our astronauts is always and will be our highest priority," NASA's new administrator, Jared Isaacman, said in announcing the decision last week.