America's most experienced astronaut, Iowa's Peggy Whitson, commanding new mission

As a child, Peggy Whitson watched the first manned moon landing on television from her home on a farm just outside of the tiny south central Iowa town of Beaconsfield.

She decided to become an astronaut and went on to spend more than 20 years as one, racking up a record 665 days in space and receiving recognition as America's most experienced astronaut, male or female, before retiring from the space program in 2018.

But at age 63, she isn't done with her ventures outside the Earth's atmosphere. On May 8, she's slated to command private firm Axiom Space's Axiom Mission 2, described as "the second all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station." The company oversaw the first private mission to the station in April 2022.

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The crew Whitson will lead is made up of American pilot John Shoffner and Saudi astronauts Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. The two woman-two man crew will conduct research on new technologies that Axiom Space says will help lay the groundwork for its planned construction of the world's first commercial space station by 2031.

In her more than 37-year aerospace career, including several years with NASA before she was chosen for the astronaut program, Whitson has achieved many firsts: the first female commander of the International Space Station, the first female and non-military chief of NASA's Astronaut Office and the first International Space Station science officer. She's been on 10 space walks, the most of any woman, and was honored as one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2018.

Previously:Iowa astronaut Raja Chari energized by return to Iowa to promote STEM education and innovation

On her voyage with Axiom, Whitson will add another achievement by becoming the first woman to command a private space mission. The crew will launch its 12-day mission using SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, boosted by that company's Falcon 9 rocket.

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