Four astronauts emerge from capsule after Pacific landing, including crew member in ‘stable’ condition

Four astronauts from the International Space Station have returned to Earth a month earlier than planned after one developed a serious medical condition onboard the orbiting outpost.

Nasa confirmed that the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, the Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov splashed down off the coast of San Diego at 12.41am local time (8.41am UK time).