NASA unveils next crew of astronauts who will fly to space station

NASA has unveiled the names of the next four spacefarers, including two Americans, who will head to Earth orbit. The joint mission with SpaceX, known as Crew-13, will take the astronauts to the International Space Station for several months.

The mission, targeted for September, would be the first spaceflight with astronauts aboard since NASA launched the trailblazing Artemis II mission on April 1, sending a four-person crew on a historic voyage around the moon.

Here's a look at the astronauts selected for Crew-13, as well as what to know about the mission to the ISS.

What is the International Space Station?

The International Space Station has been stationed in low-Earth orbit for more than 25 years, typically about 260 miles high, where it has been home to astronauts from all over the world. Throughout its lifespan, the station has served as a test bed for scientific research in microgravity and has, in years past, opened itself up to private commercial missions.

The orbital laboratory is operated through a global partnership of space agencies, including NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

More than 290 spacefarers from 26 countries have visited the International Space Station, including 170 from the United States alone, according to NASA.

NASA, SpaceX plan Crew-13 mission to ISS. When is launch?

The next astronauts to head to space will be part of a joint NASA and SpaceX mission known as Crew-13. Contracted under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, the mission tasks SpaceX with sending the astronauts to the International Space Station, where they will live and work for several months.

The astronauts will be aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which will hitch a ride to Earth orbit atop the commercial spaceflight company's Falcon 9 rocket during a launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The launch is targeted for mid-September, according to NASA.

Meet the next group of astronauts headed to space

Here's a look at the four astronauts NASA selected for the Crew-13 mission:

• Jessica Watkins, a NASA astronaut, will serve as commander of the mission. A native of Colorado, Watkins is a geologist who will be making her second trip to space since being selected as an astronaut in 2017.
• Luke Delaney, a NASA astronaut, will be the pilot. A native of Florida, Delaney is a naval aviator who will be making his first trip to space since being selected as an astronaut in 2022.
• Joshua Kutryk, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, will be a mission specialist. Kutryk, a fighter pilot from Alberta, Canada, will be the first CSA astronaut selected for NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
• Sergey Teteryatnikov, a Roscosmos cosmonaut from Russia, is the second mission specialist. Teteryatnikov is making his first trip to space.

What astronauts are on the International Space Station?

Seven astronauts are currently living and working aboard the International Space Station.

The Crew-13 astronauts are due to replace the Crew-12 mission at the space station.

Those four astronauts – NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, as well as the European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev – docked in mid-February at the orbital outpost and are due to depart a few days after their replacements arrive to allow for a handover period. In a deviation from standard protocol, that mission's Crew-11 predecessors had departed before the new astronauts' arrival due to an unprecedented medical evacuation.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russians Sergey Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who arrived at the end of November on a Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, are also at the orbital laboratory.