NASA’s Historic SpaceX Crew-7 Mission: Meet the Astronauts

The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission pose for a photo inside SpaceX Hangar X at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left to right are: Konstantin Borisov, Andreas Mogensen, Jasmin Moghbeli, and Satoshi Furukawa. Credit: SpaceX

NASA, ESA, and JAXA astronauts, as well as a Roscosmos cosmonaut, are set for the Crew-7 mission. This launch is historic, sending three international astronauts to the space station and marking the first time a non-NASA astronaut pilots a Dragon spacecraft in the Commercial Crew Program.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA’s Andreas Mogensen, JAXA’s Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos’s Konstantin Borisov are set to embark on the Crew-7 mission. Moghbeli, a decorated Marine Corps pilot, will serve as mission commander. Mogensen, the first Danish citizen in space, will take on the role of the pilot for Crew-7. Furukawa is preparing for his second stint in space and will act as a flight engineer, while Borisov is on the cusp of his inaugural space journey. Significantly, Crew-7 is groundbreaking as the first commercial launch to send three international astronauts to the space station and features a non-NASA astronaut piloting a Dragon spacecraft for the Commercial Crew Program.

The SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts are in the suit-up room inside the crew quarters at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 26, 2023. A team of SpaceX suit technicians will help them as they put on their custom-fitted spacesuits and check the suits for leaks as they prepare to board their Dragon spacecraft. Credit: NASA TV

Jasmin Moghbeli

This will be NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli’s first trip into space after being selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. The New York native earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering with information technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a Master of Science in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Moghbeli, a helicopter and Marine Corps test pilot, has more than 150 combat missions and 2,000 hours of flight time in over 25 different aircraft. She also is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. As mission commander, she will be responsible for all phases of flight, from launch to re-entry. She will serve as an Expedition 69/70 flight engineer aboard the station.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members are photographed in the Dragon Endurance spacecraft during a dry dress rehearsal at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 22, 2023. From left are Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. Credit: SpaceX

Andreas Mogensen

Andreas Mogensen was selected as an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut in 2009 and became the first Danish citizen in space after launching aboard a Soyuz for a 10-day mission to the space station in 2015. As the pilot on Crew-7, he will be responsible for spacecraft systems and performance. Aboard the station, he will serve as an Expedition 69/70 flight engineer. Mogensen is from Copenhagen, Denmark. He completed undergraduate studies and received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Imperial College London in England before gaining his doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mogensen has since served as a crew member for NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) missions 17 and 19. Mogensen was the European astronaut liaison officer to NASA’s Johnson Space Center from 2016-2022, working as a CAPCOM for astronauts aboard the station and as ground support for spacewalks, relaying tasks and direction from mission control to the spacewalkers.

The four SpaceX Crew-7 members pose for a portrait in their pressure suits. From left are, Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov. Credit: SpaceX

Satoshi Furukawa

Satoshi Furukawa will be making his second trip to space, having spent 165 days aboard the space station as part of Expeditions 28 and 29 in 2011. Furukawa is from Kanagawa, Japan, and was selected as a JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut in 1999. He is a physician and received his medical degree from the University of Tokyo, and later a doctorate in medical science from the same university. Furukawa served as a crew member on the 13th NEEMO mission, and later, was appointed head of JAXA’s Space Biomedical Research Group. Aboard the station, he will become a flight engineer for Expedition 69/70.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew in training at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, before their mission to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX

Konstantin Borisov

Konstantin Borisov will be making his first trip to space, and will also serve as a mission specialist, working to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and entry phases of flight. He entered the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps as a test cosmonaut candidate in 2018 and will serve as a flight engineer for Expedition 69/70.

Crew-7 is the first commercial crew launch to send three international partners to the space station, and it is the first time a non-NASA astronaut will be the pilot on a Dragon spacecraft on a Commercial Crew Program flight.