Donald R. Pettit (Ph.D.) was selected by NASA in 1996. The Silverton, Oregon native holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University and a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arizona. Prior to becoming an astronaut, he worked as a staff scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico. A veteran of four spaceflights, Pettit first served as NASA science officer for Expedition 6 in 2003. Next, he served as mission specialist and operated the robotic arm for STS-126 in 2008. He returned to International Space Station in 2012 for a long duration mission as a flight engineer for Expedition 30/31, where he lived aboard the ISS for 193 days. Most recently, Pettit launched to the ISS on September 11, 2024, as a flight engineer on the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft. Pettit logged another seven months aboard the station, conducting science experiments and maintaining the space station. He has lived a total of 590 days in space and has 13 spacewalk hours.