NASA Assigns Deniz Burnham to ISS Mission

United States — NASA has assigned astronaut Deniz Burnham to her first mission to the International Space Station, where she will serve as a flight engineer for Expedition 76. Burnham will launch aboard the Russia — Roscosmos Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft with cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov. The launch is targeted for March 2027 from the Kazakhstan — Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the crew will spend about seven months aboard the station. During the expedition, Burnham will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to support future human exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as research benefiting people on Earth. Burnham was selected as a United States — NASA astronaut in 2021 and graduated with the agency's 23rd astronaut class in 2024. She was born at Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, and was living in Wasilla, United States — Alaska, at the time of her selection. Before becoming an astronaut, she interned at United States — NASA's United States — Ames Research Center, earned degrees from the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Southern California, and spent over a decade managing drilling operations on oil rigs across North America. She also served in the U.S. Navy Reserves and is a licensed private pilot. The International Space Station has hosted continuous human presence for over 25 years and supports research not possible on Earth, contributing to preparations for long-duration missions under the Artemis program.