Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, renowned for her spaceflight records, is set to return to the International Space Station (ISS) commanding Axiom Space's private Ax-2 mission. The launch is slated for mid-2022 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
Peggy A. Whitson, a distinguished American astronaut and biochemist, is a NASA icon. She has flown on Expeditions 5 (2002), 16 (2008), and 50/51/52 (2016-2017), accumulating 665 days in space—the record for any U.S. astronaut.
Whitson holds the record for the longest cumulative time in space by a woman, the longest single mission by a woman (289 days), 10 spacewalks totaling 60 hours, and is the only woman to command the ISS twice.
After retiring from NASA on June 16, 2018 following over two decades of service, Whitson is making a triumphant return as commander of Axiom Space's Ax-2 mission.
Scheduled for mid-2022, Ax-2 follows Axiom's inaugural Ax-1 flight to the ISS in early 2022, crewed by three entrepreneurs and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, who are undergoing intensive training for launch forces.
Joining Whitson is John Shoffner, a life sciences investor and accomplished GT race car driver, along with two crew members yet to be announced.
The crew's eight-day ISS stay will focus on research for 10x Genomics, a California biotech firm specializing in gene sequencing. Experiments will test single-cell sequencing techniques in microgravity.
Houston-based Axiom Space, which charters spacecraft for private passengers, will use a SpaceX capsule costing approximately $55 million per mission.
Founded in 2016 by a former NASA executive, Axiom is developing private space station modules to attach to the ISS starting in 2024.
