Speaking with Jonny Kim (19 March 2025)
Special Interview with NASA Jonny Kim (19 March 2025) - Interview by Frederic Eger - Video credit: NASA JSC: NASA solicited a pool of journalists to interview NASA Astronaut Jonathan Young Kim aka Jonny Kim about his upcoming flight on the Soyuz MS-27 to ISS with Russian crewmates of Expedition 72/73. - Summary by Frederic Eger - I wanted Interplanetary.tv's viewers & subscribers to get to know Jonny Kim better, on a more personal level, as millions of kids who dream to become an Astronaut will watch this interview. Here are the few questions I was given the opportunity by NASA to ask over the phone to Jonny Kim who is in the Gagarin Training Center in Star City, Russia (https://lnkd.in/d44nsFqj), on March 19, 2025, to discuss his upcoming mission to the ISS in April:1. What specifically decided you, inspired to apply for Astronaut when you met astronaut-physician Scott E. Parazynski when you were studying at Harvard Medical School? What was so unique about Scott Parazynski that you decided that you wanted to become an astronaut no matter what?2. On June 7th, 2017, you were selected as part of 12 Astronaut-Candidate from a pool of over 18300 applicants to join the NASA astronaut group 22, what was the most difficult part of the astronaut selection? What made you want to quit at times or persevere?3. So from June 7, 2017 you start your Astronaut training til the launching aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft on April 8, 2025, it will be close to 8 years. What are the most important milestone of these 8 past years of your life waiting to finally fly as an astronaut, to the stars? Was the wait too long? How does this 8 years journey feels for you? What do you like the most, and you hate(d) the most about the Astronaut’s training?NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexey_Zubritsky). The trio will spend about 8 months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the late fall of 2025. During his time in orbit, Kim will conduct scientific investigations and tech demonstrations to help prepare the crew for future space missions and provide benefits to people on Earth. NASA selected Kim as an astronaut in 2017. After completing the initial astronaut candidate training, Kim supported mission and crew operations in various roles including the Expedition 65 lead operations officer, T-38 operations liaison, and space station capcom chief engineer. A native of Los Angeles, Kim is a US Navy lieutenant commander and dual designated naval aviator and flight surgeon. Kim also served as an enlisted Navy SEAL. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of San Diego in California, and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and completed his internship with the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. About Expedition 72/73: Expedition 72, launched on September 23, 2024, will end in Spring 2025. The crew includes NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Barry E. Wilmore, Donald Pettit, and Nick Hague, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov. The mission focuses on scientific research in biology, human physiology, physics, and materials science. The crew also maintains and upgrades the International Space Station (ISS) systems. Expedition 73, launched in mid-April 2025, will begin in July 2025. The crew includes JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Alexey Zubritsky, and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim. The objectives include continuing scientific research in these areas, maintaining and upgrading ISS systems, and expanding on previous scientific investigations. The mission also includes technology demonstrations aimed at supporting future space missions, such as those to the Moon and Mars. Both expeditions contribute significantly to advancing scientific knowledge and preparing for long-duration spaceflight. Expedition 73 aims to advance scientific research, technology development, and preparation for deep-space missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Key objectives include the Human Physiology Research (CIPHER) suite of studies on physiological and psychological changes in space, the Drain Brain 2.0 investigation of blood flow from the brain to the heart in microgravity, and the SoFIE-MIST test for fire safety protocols in space. The NAVCOM Testbed uses ISS Ham Radio hardware to test lunar navigation software, bridging Earth-based and lunar-specific solutions. More about research being operated on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science ; https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation; https://x.com/Space_Station; http://facebook.com/iss; http://instagram.com/iss
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