Former PAL Undergrad About to Launch into Space

Zena Cardman as a NASA Astronaut Candidate in 2017. (NASA/Bill Stafford)

Zena Cardman was an undergrad when she first sailed with the PAL LTER as part of Hugh Ducklow’s team in 2009.

And now, next month, Zena will serve as spacecraft commander on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Station Station! The launch is currently scheduled for no earlier that September 24th.

She was recently featured in her hometown paper, the Williamsburg Yorktown Daily, after speaking with Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, ahead of her trip.

In addition to the 2009 LTER cruise, Zena spent the entire 2011-12 field season at Palmer Station (as part of B045), and then returned to us for the LMG 1101 cruise, before joining NASA as part of the astronaut class of 2017.

The entire PAL team wisher her and her crew a safe voyage!