These are NASA’s assignments for the SpaceX Crew 9 mission to the space station
NASA has assigned the four astronauts who will be part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station to conduct research and operations.
NASA has assigned the four crew members who will be flying to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
This will be the ninth operational astronaut mission to the ISS under the NASA Commercial Crew Program, which works with the US aerospace industry to develop safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the satellite using American-made rockets and spacecraft lifting off from United States soil.
READ ALSO: How many countries have landed on the Moon?
These are NASA’s assignments for the SpaceX Crew 9 mission to the space station
Joining the Crew-9 team are three NASA astronauts: Zena Cardman, Nick Hague and Stephanie Wilson; and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. NASA said the quartet will “conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities for the benefit of all.”
Commander Cardman, a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, will lead the mission. NASA chose her as an astronaut in 2017.
In a social media post, Cardman expressed her gratitude for being named to the team. She said she was honored to fly to the ISS with “amazing crew mates who epitomize competence, kindness, and trust.”
READ ALSO: Amelia Earhart: Legacy of a legend
The mission’s veteran pilot
Hague will pilot the spacecraft, while Wilson and Gorbunov will serve as the team’s mission specialists. Hague is the veteran of the group, having tallied a total of 203 days spent in space, including a long-term mission to the International Space Station. The Crew-9 mission will be his third launch and second trip to the ISS.
Wilson has 42 days in space tucked under her belt, spread over three space flights. It will be the first trip to space for both Cardman and Gorbunov.
Crew 9 will take off on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Coast in Florida. No final target date has yet been announced, although the launch will take place no earlier than August this year.