Astronaut Nicole Mann sits inside a T-38 trainer jet at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, in this image from Nov. 15, 2018. She served as the T-38 safety and training officer; T-38s are used for pilot proficiency and training for astronauts.
Selected as an astronaut candidate in June 2013, Mann will be the first Indigenous woman from NASA in space. In her first spaceflight, she is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft no earlier than Oct. 5, 2022.
As mission commander, she will be responsible for all phases of flight, from launch to re-entry. She will serve as an Expedition 68 flight engineer aboard the station.
Watch our SpaceX Crew-5 mission launch to the Space Station.