Four ISS crew members are set to touch down on Thursday after NASA announced the first medical evacuation in the space station’s history

NASA crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) could return to Earth as soon as Thursday, the US space agency said, after a medical emergency prompted the crew to return from their mission early.

Astronauts on the International Space Station were not only treated to a sight from Earth's atmosphere recently but also caught a glimpse of one of the Milky Way's nearest galactic neighbors.

Four crew members are scheduled to depart earlier than scheduled later this week after a medical issue involving an unidentified crew member.

The Crew-11 mission is coming to an early end, as NASA indicates, resulting from an ill crewmember requiring non-emergent evacuation from the ISS.

Green aurora can be seen dancing in Earth 's upper atmosphere as the zodiacal light fades, shimmering between the profiles of the space station's solar panels as they rotate to track the sun. The bright stars of the constellations Pegasus, Andromeda and Ares also rotate into view as the station continues its lap of Earth.