Alum Becomes NASA's Oldest Active Astronaut

Donald Pettit, who graduated from the University of Arizona in 1983 with a PhD in chemical engineering, will return to the International Space Station for his fourth NASA mission. With this ascension, Pettit will become the oldest active NASA astronaut at 69 years old. Pettit is planned to launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft in September 2024, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory.

Pettit previously participated in three space flights in 2003, 2008 and 2012. In total, he has logged 370 days in space and conducted two spacewalks totaling 13 hours and 17 minutes.

He has conducted a variety of scientific missions for NASA, including expanding the living quarters of the space station and installing a regenerative life support system to reclaim potable water. 

Prior to his astronaut career, Pettit worked as a staff scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.