NASA Astronaut Group 22

The Turtles
NASA Astronaut Group 22 and the two Canadian astronauts in September 2019
Year selected	2017
Number selected	12

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

Group patch

NASA announced the creation of this astronaut group in November 2015 and accepted applications for astronaut hires from December 2015 through February 2016.[1] A record number of applications - over 18,300 - were received. The final group of twelve selected candidates was publicly announced on June 7, 2017.[2] The class was introduced at a press conference at the Johnson Space Center by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. The ages of the seven men and six women ranged from 29 to 42 at the time of announcement.^[citation needed]

The Group 22 astronaut candidates arrived at the Johnson Space Center in Houston for training in August 2017, and when their approximately two-year-long training program was complete in January 2020, they became available for future missions.[3]

The group earned their "Turtles" nickname after experiencing flooding from Hurricane Harvey shortly after arriving at NASA.[4] The name was chosen by the preceding astronaut group, "The 8-Balls", according to NASA traditions.

The first astronauts of this astronaut group to fly to space, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron on SpaceX Crew-3 took a toy stuffed turtle as zero-g indicator to pay a tribute to their astronaut group.[5]

Group members

• Kayla Barron (born 1987): Lt. Cmdr., U.S. Navy[6]
  • Mission specialist, SpaceX Crew-3 (Expedition 66/67)
• Zena Cardman (born 1987): Biologist
• Raja Chari (born 1977): Col., U.S. Air Force
  • Spacecraft commander, SpaceX Crew-3 (Expedition 66/67)
• Matthew Dominick (born 1981): Cmdr., U.S. Navy[6]
  • Spacecraft commander, SpaceX Crew-8 (Expedition 70/71/72)
• Bob Hines (born 1975): Col., U.S. Air Force, NASA research pilot
  • Pilot, SpaceX Crew-4 (Expedition 67/68)
• Warren Hoburg (born 1985): assistant professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
  • Pilot, SpaceX Crew-6 (Expedition 68/69)
• Jonny Kim (born 1984): LCDR, U.S. Navy, physician, former U.S. Navy SEAL
  • Flight Engineer, Soyuz MS-27 (Expedition 72/73/74)
• Jasmin Moghbeli (born 1983): LtCol., U.S. Marine Corps
  • Spacecraft commander, SpaceX Crew-7 (Expedition 69/70)
• Loral O'Hara (born 1983): research engineer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Flight Engineer, Soyuz MS-24 (Expedition 69/70)
• Francisco Rubio (born 1975): Maj., U.S. Army physician
  • Flight Engineer, Soyuz MS-22/MS-23 (Expedition 67/68/69)[7]
• Jessica Watkins (born 1988): postdoctoral fellow, California Institute of Technology
  • Mission specialist, SpaceX Crew-4 (Expedition 67/68)[8]

Canadian partner astronauts

The U.S. astronauts trained alongside two Canadian astronaut candidates:

• Joshua Kutryk (born 1982): LCol, Royal Canadian Air Force, test pilot, fighter pilot, engineer
  • Future Flight, Boeing Starliner-1
• Jenni Sidey-Gibbons (born 1988): Mechanical engineer, combustion scientist, and lecturer[9]

Former group member

• Robb Kulin (born 1983): Launch Chief Engineer, SpaceX – Resigned in August 2018 before completing his training.[10]

References

1. "Astronaut Selection". NASA. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
2. "NASA's Newest Astronaut Recruits to Conduct Research off the Earth, For the Earth and Deep Space Missions" (Press release). NASA. June 7, 2017. 17-054. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
3. Grush, Loren (January 10, 2020). "NASA's newest astronaut class, the Turtles, become eligible for space missions". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
4. Pearlman, Robert (September 18, 2017). "'Turtles' on a really high post: NASA's new astronauts get their nickname". collectSPACE. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
5. Berger, Eric [@SciGuySpace] (November 10, 2021). "If you're wondering about the "turtle" zero-g mascot, both Chari and Barron are members of "The Turtles" astronaut class, selected in 2017. They are the first class members to fly into space" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
6. "Active Duty Promotions to the Permanent Grades of Captain, Commander, Lieutenant Commande" (Press release). United States Navy. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020.
7. Roscosmos [@roscosmos] (January 20, 2022). "В случае подписания между Роскосмосом и @NASA соглашения о «перекрестных» полетах на МКС Анну Кикину планируется вв…" [If Roscosmos and @NASA sign an agreement on "exchange" flights to the ISS, Anna Kikina is planned to be included in the main crew of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. In her place, NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio will be included in the main crew of the #SoyuzMS22 spacecraft.] (Tweet) (in Russian). Archived from the original on January 22, 2022 – via Twitter.
8. Finch, Josh; Schierholz, Stephanie; Dean, Megan; Connell, Dylan, eds. (November 16, 2021). "NASA Assigns Astronaut Jessica Watkins to NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Mission" (Press release). NASA. Archived from the original on July 27, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
9. Schierholz, Stephanie; Dean, Brandi, eds. (August 16, 2017). "2017 Astronaut Candidates Available for Interviews Before Training" (Press release). NASA. Archived from the original on June 15, 2024.
10. Pearlman, Robert (August 27, 2018). "NASA astronaut candidate resigns prior to qualifying for spaceflight". collectSPACE. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024.

External links

• Turtles class nickname