Chris Hadfield is already hard at work, training for his mission. Here is a glimpse of what he's been up to in the past few months. Visit us often for updates!
NEEMO 14
Here are his thoughts in short:
Expedition 20/21
From 2008-09, Chris Hadfield served as the backup for Canadian Astronaut Dr. Bob Thirsk for Expedition 20/21, a long-duration spaceflight.
He trained to ride the Soyuz as well as to live and work on board the ISS for a period of up to six months. An experience that certainly gives him an edge!
Robotics
Chris is a highly skilled and proven robotics operator. He was Chief of Robotics for the NASA Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas from 2003-2006, and was Chief of International Space Station Operations there from 2006-2008. But even the best need to keep their skills sharp! Chris will need to train in order to perform various robotics tasks during his mission.
For example, the period when he will be on the ISS will see several planned visits by new resupply vehicles. These vehicles have no mechanisms to allow them to automatically dock to the ISS; the astronauts must use Canadarm2 to capture these unmanned vehicles from their parked orbits near the station and manually dock them to the station. Chris is expected to perform these critical robotics tasks.
For a view like no other of Chris'training, visit our Image Gallery!