UNC-Chapel Hill grad heads to space with NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A UNC-Chapel Hill graduate has been selected to join NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. NASA announced the four member crew was preparing to launch to the International Space Station.

Among the team is NASA astronaut Commander Zena Cardman. Cardman holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a master’s in Marine Sciences from UNC. NASA says at the time of her selection, the astronaut was a doctoral candidate in geosciences.

According to NASA, Cardman’s research has focused on geobiology and geochemical cycling in subsurface environments. She has supported real-time station operations and development for lunar surface exploration. Her experience includes several Antarctic explorations.

Cardman grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia. She joined NASA in Aug. 2017 and completed two years of training as an Astronaut Candidate.

The astronaut will be joined aboard the Dragon Spacecraft by Pilot Nick Hague, Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov.

During the mission, NASA says the crew will conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities. They will join Expedition 71 and 72 crew members no earlier than August. The team is scheduled to arrive to the space station for a short duration handover with NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission.

This is the ninth rotational mission to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The program’s goal is to deliver on safe, reliable, and cost-effective human transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry.

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