Kimiya Yui

Kimiya Yui is a Japanese astronaut with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). He was part of Crew-11, which launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 1, 2026, for a planned six-month mission. Yui is currently newsworthy because the mission was cut short due to a "serious" but undisclosed medical issue affecting another astronaut on board. NASA made the decision to bring the entire four-person crew back to Earth earlier than scheduled, marking the first-ever medical evacuation from the ISS. The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Yui, along with NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, splashed down off the coast of California on January 15, 2026. The early return highlights the challenges and risks associated with long-duration space missions and the importance of medical support in space.