Skywatchers across the Bay Area will have a rare early-morning opportunity Thursday as a NASA SpaceX Dragon spacecraft makes its final pass over California before returning to Earth.

Crew-11 mission from the International Space Station. Crew Dragon Endeavour and its crew of four — comprised of two NASA astronauts, one Japanese astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut — are scheduled to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean a few hours later at 12:40 AM PST (08:40 UTC) on Thursday,

After a health issue, four astronauts are set to leave the International Space Station early, with a pre-dawn Pacific splashdown planned for Thursday, Jan. 15.

Instead of remaining at the International Space Station (ISS) for the full duration of their mission, the four crew members are coming home a month early due to a medical issue with one of the astronauts.

The Crew Dragon capsule has undocked from the International Space Station carrying four astronauts, one of whom has a "serious medical condition", and is on its way back to Earth.