Zena Cardman

Zena Maria Cardman (born October 26, 1987) is an American geobiologist and NASA astronaut.

Early life and education Cardman was born on October 26, 1987. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she majored in biology, minored in chemistry and marine sciences, and wrote an honors thesis in creative writing. She completed a Master of Science degree with the research group of Dr. Andreas Teske.

During her early career, Cardman supported NASA research in British Columbia, Idaho, and Hawaii, developing operational architectures for planetary EVA. She has sailed as an assistant engineer with the Sea Education Association, working in the engine room of a brigantine. At the time of her selection in June 2017, Cardman was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate in Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University, studying geobiology and novel redox couples in Earth's subsurface.

NASA career

Prior to her astronaut candidacy, Cardman worked in science and operations for the NASA Pavilion Lake Research Project (2008–2015) and BASALT (2016–2017). In June 2017, she was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22 and began her two-year training at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

On January 31, 2024, NASA announced that Cardman would fly as commander of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. However, when NASA decided to return the Boeing Starliner capsule on the Boeing Crew Flight Test uncrewed, Cardman was removed from Crew-9, along with mission specialist and fellow astronaut Stephanie Wilson, to make room on the return journey for the Starliner astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams. On September 28, 2024, she co-hosted NASA's coverage of the Crew-9 launch, along with NASA communicator Derrol Nail and a brief appearance by Wilson, commenting during the nearly five-hour broadcast at length on the experience that Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were going through as they successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

On March 27, 2025, Cardman was announced as the commander of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission that launched on August 1, 2025. She conducted research, maintenance, and technology demonstrations aboard the International Space Station.

Personal life Her hobbies include rock climbing, caving, poetry, and power lifting.

Awards and honors Cardman has received numerous academic awards, including a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Royster Society Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, Chancellor's Award (UNC Chapel Hill) for Most Outstanding Senior Woman, and Space Grant Consortium Fellowships.