nasa astronauts space station evacuation

Why was the mission cut short? The ISS crew made an early emergency return to Earth due to an undisclosed serious medical condition affecting one of the astronauts. Last week, NASA announced that it had canceled a spacewalk at the last minute due to health concerns involving one of the crew members.

While the specific salaries for Suni, 59, and Butch, 62, have not been revealed, the pay rate for astronauts fall under the federal governments GS-11 to GS-14 pay scale, which estimates their salary range from being $84,365 to $152,258 depending on their experience.

Four astronauts safely returned to Earth early Thursday, capping a dramatic and unusual week in space that required the crew to leave the International Space Station about a month earlier than planned because of a medical issue that arose in orbit.

NASA made the decision to cut the mission short and return all four Crew-11 astronauts to Earth after one of them experienced what the space agency called a "medical concern." Citing privacy, NASA did not specify the nature of the medical issue, nor identify the crew member, who remains stable.