@astro_jessica

Missing my space sister, fellow recipient of our award @astro_christina - but honored to finally have our red carpet moment at the @time #time100 Gala. Humbled to be in the presence of these influential leaders, scientists, artists, and true icons.

In honor of the true heroes. #MemorialDay #Boston

The last time @nasa Flight Director @mama_dmd and I worked together “in” Mission Control Houston, I had just arrived to @iss (top left). Great day reuniting yesterday to support our friends in space!

@nasaastronauts Charlie Duke, of Apollo 16, was the first astronaut I met in 1995 as I was finishing high school. Afterward, I wrote him a letter as an aspiring astronaut, and he took the time to reply. I’ve cherished this letter since, and flew it with me to @iss. A few weeks ago I had the honor of sharing this history with Charlie and his family (& Ken Mattingly’s) as well as showing them around my old home on the @iss (@nasajohnson ISS mock-up) and our future ride back to the Moon in the @nasaartemis #orioncapsule!

In addition to our hovering ops, we practiced pattern work and visual approaches (and landings!) in the UH-72 Lakota. Turns out Alabama is a gorgeous place to fly for those like me that ❤️ trees! Thanks again to the @usarmy for exceptional training helping @nasaastronauts return to the Moon for @nasaartemis missions. Video by @astrovicglover in the back seat - we took turns flying - like all things that we do, crew coordination is key!

Now let’s bring that hover up 250 feet and back down to land in the same spot! The challenge and reward of flying a helicopter has been completely invigorating. Thank you for the incredible training at @usarmy Fort Rucker!

Step 5 of learning to fly a helicopter - iterate and practice! Here I’m performing hovering maneuvers (forward taxi and pedal turn) in the UH-72 Lakota. Learning the basics of vertical flight profiles will help us prepare for NASA’s next great flight - landing on the Moon! @nasaartemis

Step 4 of learning to fly a helicopter - hop on in, it’s takeoff time! Here she is, the UH-72 Lakota. (Not documented here, Step 3: top notch simulators for our first exposure behind the controls, incredibly valuable familiarization before the real thing). If anyone ever told you helicopters are much more difficult to fly than airplanes, you should certainly believe them! Very difficult, but equally as rewarding! Hovering and pattern work - check! More to come…

Step 2 of learning to fly helicopters, cockpit procedure trainers to familiarize us with the controls, instruments and systems.

This week @astrovicglover and I headed to @usarmy #FortRucker to learn the basics of vertical flight. These skills will help prepare @nasaastronauts for landing on the Moon in @nasaartemis missions. First stop, obtaining some ground school fundamentals. Stay tuned for our first flights in the #uh72 (UH = utility helicopter) next week!

Although I hadn’t posted this photo before, it is one of my favorites of our @iss #Expedition62 because it captures the pure joy that we are so fortunate to feel in space. Our missions involve a lot of hard work, but they are also incredibly fun. Like life, space is better shared!

Welcome back to Earth @nasaastronauts Mark Vande Hei! After 355 days living on @iss, he set the new record for the longest continuous space flight for a US astronaut.