NASA Crew-8 Astronauts Undergo Medical Evaluations After SpaceX Splashdown, One Remains Hospitalized

Following their splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, three NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut from the Crew-8 mission were taken to a Florida medical facility for precautionary evaluations, with one astronaut remaining under observation. The crew, who spent a record-breaking 235 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), landed safely aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule early Friday morning.

The astronauts — NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin — initially received evaluations at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola hospital, with three quickly cleared to fly back to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. However, one crew member remained in stable condition under observation, NASA confirmed in a statement, without specifying further details to protect the astronaut’s privacy.

NASA Deputy Manager of the Commercial Crew Program, Richard Jones, assured that the crew’s initial health checks on the recovery ship went well and that “the crew is doing great.” While extensive medical checkouts are routine after long-duration space missions, Crew-8’s stay in space marked an extended mission, further impacted by weather and scheduling delays.

Crew-8’s return also faced rescheduling due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which ultimately returned empty after test complications. Despite these challenges, all four crew members exited their capsule smiling and waving, showing resilience after the longest mission yet on a U.S. crewed spacecraft.