All Astronauts
VETERANRetiredJAXA
VETERANRetiredJAXAJAXA·🇯🇵 Japan·Born 1952
Chiaki Mukai
First Japanese woman in space and first Japanese citizen with two spaceflights.
566h
Hours in Space
2
Missions
0
EVAs
—
EVA Time
What they aspire to
She aspired to advance life-science research in space and to encourage women to pursue science.
Biography
First Japanese woman in space and first Japanese citizen with two spaceflights. Cardiovascular surgeon who flew alongside John Glenn on STS-95.
Before NASACardiovascular surgeon at Keio University Hospital before being selected by NASDA in 1985 as a payload specialist.
Notable Missions
STS-65 (Spacelab IML-2)STS-95
Beyond the Mission
Hobbies & Interests
alpine skiingtennisscuba divingtanka poetry
Causes They Champion
Women in scienceSpace life-sciences research
Languages
JapaneseEnglish
Awards & Honors
- Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation
- Knight of the Légion d'honneur
- Medal with Purple Ribbon (Japan)
Fun fact
On STS-95 in 1998 she launched alongside John Glenn and became the first Japanese citizen to fly in space twice.
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