Jasmin Moghbeli (born June 24, 1983) is an American U.S. Marine Corps test pilot and NASA astronaut. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Naval Postgraduate School, and Naval Test Pilot School. Moghbeli was mission commander for SpaceX Crew-7 and flight engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 69/70.[1]

Jasmin Moghbeli
Born (1983-06-24) June 24, 1983 (age 41)
Education
SpouseSam Wald
Children2
Space career
NASA astronaut
RankLieutenant Colonel, USMC
Time in space
199 days, 2 hours and 20 minutes
SelectionNASA Group 22 (2017)
Total EVAs
1
Total EVA time
6h 42m
MissionsSpaceX Crew-7 (Expedition 69/70)
Mission insignia
NASA interviews with Jasmin Moghbeli

Early life and education

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Jasmin Moghbeli was born in Bad Nauheim, West Germany on June 24, 1983.[2][3][4]

Her father, Kamran (Kamy) Moghbeli, was an architect who immigrated to Germany in 1980 from Tehran, Iran.[5] He and his family lived in Bad Nauheim, where Jasmin was born, until the beginning of 1984 when they immigrated to the United States.[6] Her mother is Fereshta (Fery) Moghbeli.[5] Moghbeli has an older brother,[7] Kaveh, specialist in pulmonary and intensive care medicine.[6] Moghbeli speaks Persian,[8] English, and learned Russian during her astronaut training.[9][10]

Moghbeli attended Baldwin Senior High School in New York.[11] She earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering with information technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and played volleyball, lacrosse, and basketball for the MIT Engineers.[12][13][14][15]

Military career

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Moghbeli pictured with a Bell AH-1Z Viper in 2017

Moghbeli was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps in 2005, and trained to become an AH-1 Super Cobra pilot.[12] While in service with the Marine Corps, she deployed overseas three times and completed 150 combat missions. Moghbeli received a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in California. She attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland, becoming a helicopter test pilot with VMX-1 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona.[13]

As of 2019, she has accumulated over 2,000 hours of flight time and flown in 150 combat missions, including sorties in Afghanistan.[12]

NASA career

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In June 2017, Moghbeli was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22, and subsequently began her two-year training.[16]

In January 2020, she graduated alongside 13 others in the NASA Astronaut Candidate Training Program, officially making her "eligible for spaceflight, including assignments to the International Space Station, Artemis missions to the Moon, and ultimately, missions to Mars."[17]

In March 2022, she was assigned as commander of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station. The mission, her first flight in space, launched to the space station on August 26, 2023.[18] On March 12, 2024, the mission landed off the coast of Florida after spending 199 days in space and orbiting the Earth 3,184 times.[19]

Personal life

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Moghbeli is married to Sam Wald. They are the parents of twin girls.[20] Wald is Jewish,[21] and they celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah at home; Moghbeli celebrated Hanukkah in space as well.[22]

She is proud of her American and Persian heritage, noting: "Reflecting on this past year, I stand here so proud of my Persian heritage but also incredibly proud to be an American."[8] She still celebrates Nowruz (Persian New Year).[8][23]

Space exploration was an aspiration for Moghbeli as a child. During school, she wrote a sixth-grade book report on the first woman in space, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.[24]

Awards and honors

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Moghbeli has received four Air Medals, a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. She has also received the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School Class 144 Outstanding Developmental Phase II Award and the Commander Willie McCool Outstanding Student Award as the Class 144 Honor Graduate.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Algemeiner, The (December 7, 2023). "NASA Astronaut to Celebrate Hanukkah in Space With Felt Menorah and Dreidel - Algemeiner.com". www.algemeiner.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "Astronaut Biography: Jasmin Moghbeli". www.spacefacts.de. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli". January 9, 2020. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "Jasmin Moghbeli - NASA Astronaut and U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel". NASA. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "God is my Refuge and my Strength | St. Paul's Episcopal Church". Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "In Bad Nauheim geboren: Jasmin Moghbeli fliegt ins All". www.fnp.de. August 12, 2023. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "NASA Graduate and Baldwin Alumna Jasmin Moghbeli Featured in Newsday". www.baldwinschools.org. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Nowruz: U.S.-Iranian Astronaut at the White House". The Iran Primer. March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Face of Defense: To the Moon … And Beyond!". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "Jasmin Moghbeli '05 Graduates From NASA Astronaut Candidate Training Program". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  11. ^ "NASA Graduate and Baldwin Alumna Jasmin Moghbeli Featured in Newsday". Baldwinschools.org. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d "Jasmin Moghbeli". nasa.gov. Archived from the original on June 24, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  13. ^ a b Wright, Robin (July 2, 2017). "Jasmin Moghbeli, Badass Astronaut". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  14. ^ "Women's Basketball - 24 - Jasmin Moghbeli". MIT Engineers. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  15. ^ "Women's Volleyball Takes Fourth". MIT The Tech. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Harwood, William (June 7, 2017). "NASA introduces 12 new astronauts". CBS News. CBS Broadcasting. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  17. ^ MIT Athletics (January 16, 2020). "Jasmin Moghbeli '05 Graduates from NASA Astronaut Candidate Training Program". MITAthletics.com. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Launches to International Space Station". www.nasa.gov. August 26, 2023. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  19. ^ Leinfelder, Andrea (March 12, 2024). "NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 splashes down off the coast of Florida". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  20. ^ "Meet Jasmin Moghbeli, a Marine helicopter pilot and mom of twins who is leading a crew to the space station - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. August 25, 2023. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  21. ^ "Happy Hanukkah from space: NASA astronaut 'lights' menorah". www.jpost.com. December 8, 2023. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  22. ^ "NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli shares creative way to mark Hanukkah in space". www.abc7.com. December 9, 2023. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  23. ^ Wright, Robin (July 2, 2017). "Jasmin Moghbeli, Badass Astronaut". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2019 – via www.newyorker.com.
  24. ^ Rivera, Ivan (August 23, 2023). "Exploring the Journey: Baldwin Teacher's Close Encounter with Former Student's Space Launch". Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
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