NASA Astronaut Deniz Burnham set for first International Space Station mission

NASA has selected astronaut Deniz Burnham for her first mission to the International Space Station, where she will spend approximately seven months conducting scientific research and technology demonstrations designed to advance future human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Burnham is scheduled to launch in March 2027 aboard the Russian Roscosmos Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. She will fly alongside Russian cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov as part of Expedition 76, serving as a flight engineer aboard the orbiting laboratory.

During the mission, Burnham will help carry out experiments aimed at improving life on Earth while also developing technologies and scientific knowledge needed for NASA’s future deep-space exploration efforts. Research aboard the International Space Station continues to play a critical role in preparing astronauts for long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon and eventual human expeditions to Mars.

Burnham was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021 and graduated with the agency’s 23rd astronaut class in 2024. Born at Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, she spent much of her childhood moving with her military family before eventually settling in Wasilla, Alaska.

Before joining NASA’s astronaut corps, Burnham built an accomplished career in engineering. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California. She also completed a NASA internship at Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.

Her professional experience includes more than a decade managing drilling operations across North America in the energy industry. Burnham also served as an engineering duty officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and is a licensed private pilot with certifications covering airplanes, seaplanes, instrument flight, and helicopters.

The International Space Station has been continuously occupied for more than 25 years, serving as a unique laboratory where astronauts conduct research impossible to perform on Earth. The work carried out aboard the station supports advances in medicine, technology, and science while helping NASA overcome the challenges of long-duration human spaceflight and laying the groundwork for future exploration missions deeper into the solar system.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/station

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(Source: NASA)

(Cover photo:  NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.  Image credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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