UNC alumna set for NASA Crew-11 launch to Space Station on Thursday

A two-time UNC-Chapel Hill alumna is making strides towards the stars as she heads to space.

Zena Cardman is one of four astronauts headed to space on Thursday as part of NASA’s Crew-11 launch.

She was first selected by NASA as a member of the 2017 “Turtles” Astronaut class. While at UNC she studied primarily geobiology and geochemical cycling.

Her research has taken her from the Artic to Antarctica, and now she hopes to take it to the moon.

“Right now, my job is training full-time,” Cardman said in a 2019 media release. “Everybody has to be able to do everything. So, even though I’m a microbiologist, I’m also learning all of these operational and engineering systems. Similarly, my test pilot classmates have to learn how to use a pipette and operate as a scientist.”

On Wednesday, NASA, SpaceX and International partners polled “go” to continue with launch preparations after the Flight Readiness Review at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA officials said the Flight Readiness Review is an in-depth assessment on the readiness of flight for SpaceX’s transportation system, mission operations, support functions, and readiness of the International Space Station to support the crewed flight to the International Space Station. 

Cardman will join and pilot Mike Fincke, mission specialists Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 is set to launch no earlier than 12:09 p.m. on Thursday.