Zena Maria Cardman (born October 26, 1987) is an American

geobiologist Geobiology is a field of scientific research that explores the interactions between the physical Earth and the biosphere. It is a relatively young field, and its borders are fluid. There is considerable overlap with the fields of ecology, evoluti ...

and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut.

Early life and education

Cardman was born on October 26, 1987. She received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in Biology from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, where she majored in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, minored in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

marine sciences Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its Physical oceanography, physics, Chemical oceanography, chemistry, Biological oceanography, biology, a ...

, and wrote an honors thesis in creative writing. Cardman's research took her to remote field sites from the Arctic to the Antarctic and included multiple offshore expeditions on board research ships. While at the University of North Carolina, Cardman studied biogeochemistry in hydrocarbon seeps and hydrothermal vents. During that time, she also worked with the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research Network in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. She completed a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree with the research group of Dr. Andreas Teske. During her early career, Cardman supported NASA research in British Columbia, Idaho, and Hawaii, developing operational architectures for planetary EVA. She has sailed as an assistant engineer with the Sea Education Association, working in the engine room of a brigantine. At the time of her selection in June 2017, Cardman was a

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

Graduate Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate in Geosciences at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, studying geobiology and novel redox couples in Earth's subsurface.

NASA career

Prior to her astronaut candidacy, Cardman worked in science and operations for the NASA

Pavilion Lake Research Project The Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP) is an international, multi-disciplinary, science and exploration effort to explain the origin of freshwater microbialites (similar to stromatolites) in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada. History ...

(2008–2015) and BASALT (2016–2017). In June 2017, she was selected as a member of

NASA Astronaut Group 22 NASA Astronaut Group 22 (nicknamed "The Turtles") is a group of twelve NASA astronauts selected in June 2017. They were joined by two Canadian Space Agency astronauts for training. History NASA announced the creation of this astronaut group in ...

and began her two-year training at

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

in Houston. On January 31, 2024, NASA announced that Cardman would fly as commander of the

SpaceX Crew-9 SpaceX Crew-9 was the ninth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight and the 15th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Originally scheduled to carry a crew of four to the International Space Station (ISS) in mid-August 2024 ...

mission to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

. However, when NASA decided to return the

Boeing Starliner The Boeing Starliner (or CST-100) is a spacecraft designed to transport crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. Developed by Boeing under NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), it consists o ...

capsule on the

Boeing Crew Flight Test Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT) was the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner capsule. Launched on 5 June 2024, the mission flew a crew of two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Sta ...

uncrewed, Cardman was removed from Crew-9, along with mission specialist and fellow astronaut

Stephanie Wilson Stephanie Diana Wilson (born September 27, 1966)Laura Woodmansee, ed. ''Women Astronauts.'' (2002). Burlington, Ont.: Apogee Books. . p. 131. is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. She flew to space onboard three Space Shuttle missions a ...

, to make room on the return journey for the Starliner astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and

Sunita Williams Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams ( Pandya; born September 19, 1965) is an American astronaut and a retired U.S. Navy officer. Williams served aboard the International Space Station as a participant in Expedition 14, a flight engineer for Expedition ...

. On September 28, 2024, she co-hosted NASA's coverage of the Crew-9 launch, along with NASA communicator Derrol Nail and a brief appearance by Wilson, commenting during the nearly five-hour broadcast at length on the experience that

Nick Hague Tyler Nicklaus "Nick" Hague (born 24 September 1975) is a United States Space Force Brigadier General (select) and NASA astronaut, selected as part of the NASA Astronaut Group 21, 2013 astronaut class. Hague's first spaceflight was aboard Soyuz ...

and

Roscosmos The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a State corporation (Russia), state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space science, space flights, List of space agencies, c ...

cosmonaut

Aleksandr Gorbunov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov (; born 24 May 1990) is a Russian cosmonaut and Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer. A native of Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Zheleznogorsk, he graduated with a degree in engineering from the Moscow Av ...

were going through as they successfully launched from

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the sta ...

in Florida. On March 27, 2025, Cardman was announced as the commander of the

SpaceX Crew-11 SpaceX Crew-11 is planned to be the eleventh operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight and the 19th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission will transport four crew members – NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mich ...

mission.

Personal life

Her hobbies include rock climbing, caving, poetry, and power lifting.

Awards and honors

Cardman has received numerous academic awards, including a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Royster Society Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, Chancellor's Award (

UNC Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

) for Most Outstanding Senior Woman, and Space Grant Consortium Fellowships.

References

External links

Zena Cardman's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardman, Zena American astronauts People from Urbana, Illinois Living people 1987 births American women astronauts University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences alumni People from Williamsburg, Virginia American microbiologists