American astronaut Mike Fincke will hand over command of the International Space Station (ISS) to Russian cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov on Monday. The decision is due to the early return of the Crew-11 mission to Earth due to the health condition of one of the crew members, NASA reported.
The Crew-11 mission arrived at the ISS on August 2 last year on the Crew Dragon spacecraft of SpaceX. It included NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, astronaut of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Kimia Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. The crew's return is scheduled for January 15.
After the departure of Crew-11, one NASA astronaut Christopher Williams and two Russian cosmonauts, Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, who arrived at the ISS on November 27, 2025 on the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, will remain on board the station.
