A Russian cosmonaut, Kirill Peskow, is set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) alongside NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, as well as a Japanese astronaut, Takuya Onishi, on March 12. The NASA press office announced the planned start date.
Peskov and Onishi will serve as mission specialists, while McClain will be the commander and Ayers the pilot. The launch will be carried out by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, departing from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Crew-10 will replace the current ISS crew, comprising NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Barry Wilmore, Suni Williams and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
At 34, Peskov will be responsible for the maintenance of the Russian segment of the ISS. After completing his secondary education, he studied civil aviation and began his career as a co-pilot on a Boeing 757 for Nordwind Airlines. In 2018, he was selected by the Russian space agency Roskosmos for the astronaut candidate pool and two years later, he was qualified as a test cosmonaut. This will be his first spaceflight with the Dragon Crew.
An agreement between NASA and Roskosmos, signed in January 2025, includes a total of three joint flights, with Peskov’s upcoming mission being one of them.