By NASA
NASA and its international partners approved the crew for Axiom Space’s third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, launching from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than January 2024.
Axiom Space’s chief astronaut and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría will command the private mission. Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are Alper Gezeravci of Turkey and ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden.
Private astronaut missions to the space station help pave the way toward commercial space stations as part of NASA’s efforts to develop a thriving low Earth orbit ecosystem and marketplace and enable more nations, more people, and more opportunities in space than ever before.