NASA Astronaut Zena Cardman

Zena Cardman was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. Cardman served as commander for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, which launched on August 1, 2025, to the International Space Station. Upon her arrival to the space station, she became a flight engineer of Expeditions 73/74 for a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission safely splashed down on January 15, 2026 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, concluding a more than five-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

Quick Facts

The Virginia native holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and a Master’s of Science in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

👁 The Virginia native holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and a Master’s of Science in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Cardman’s experience includes multiple Antarctic expeditions.

👁 Cardman’s experience includes multiple Antarctic expeditions.

At the time of her selection in June 2017, Cardman was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, where she studied nitrogen- and sulfur-cycling in chemosynthetic biofilms.

👁 At the time of her selection in June 2017, Cardman was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, where she studied nitrogen- and sulfur-cycling in chemosynthetic biofilms.

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(6 June 2017) NASA Astronaut – Zena Cardman. (Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz)

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(21 November 2017) ASCAN Helicopter Water Survival Training. (Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel)

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(25 February 2025) Artemis Astronaut Training Media Day with astronauts Anne McClain and Zena Cardman during a NBL Run. (Credit: NASA/Norah Moran)

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(29 September 2022) xEMU Space Suit Testing – NBL VV&D EVA Hardware Review #3 with Trevor Graff and Zena Cardman. (Credit: NASA/Utility Driver)

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(18 August 2020) From left: NASA Astronaut Candidates Nichole “Vapor” Ayers and Jack “Radio” Hathaway, NASA Scientific Photographer Josh Valcarcel, and NASA Astronaut Zena Cardman, in front of a T-38 aircraft. (Credit: NASA/Alphonso Forbes)