An astronaut can return to Earth from the ISS entirely without ground support.

The claim states that an astronaut can return from the ISS entirely without ground support. In reality, returning from the ISS requires complex spacecraft (like Soyuz, Crew Dragon, or cargo return vehicles), ground-managed de-orbit burns, tracking networks, and recovery teams on Earth. The retrieved literature discusses sample return systems (Paper [10]) and notes that current ISS safety and medical operations rely strictly on a 'stabilize-and-evacuate' model involving ground intervention (Paper [11]). No retrieved papers support the notion that an astronaut can independently return without ground support. Therefore, the claim is refuted.