Koichi Wakata

Koichi Wakata
Koichi Wakata
若田光一
	Wakata in 2022
Born	1 August 1963 (age 60); Ōmiya, Saitama, Japan
Occupation	Structural Engineer
	Space career
NASDA/JAXA astronaut
Time in space	504 days, 18 hours and 33 minutes
Selection	1992 NASDA Group
Total EVAs	2
Total EVA time	14 hours, 2 minutes
Missions	STS-72, STS-92, STS-119/127 (Expedition 18/19/20), Soyuz TMA-11M (Expedition 38/39), SpaceX Crew-5 (Expedition 68)
Mission insignia
Retirement	March 31, 2024

Koichi Wakata (若田光一, Wakata Kōichi, born 1 August 1963) is a Japanese engineer and an astronaut working for Axiom Space. He retired from JAXA in 2024. Wakata is a veteran of four NASA Space Shuttle missions, a Russian Soyuz mission, and a long-duration stay on the International Space Station.^[1] During a nearly two-decade career in spaceflight, he has logged more than eleven months in space. During Expedition 39, he became the first Japanese commander of the International Space Station. Wakata flew on the Soyuz TMA-11M/Expedition 38/Expedition 39 long duration spaceflight from 7 November 2013 to 13 May 2014. During this spaceflight he was accompanied by Kirobo, the first humanoid robot astronaut.^[2] As of 2023, he is the longest active astronaut in the world.^[3]

^ Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (July 16, 2014). "Koichi Wakata (Dr. Eng.)". JAXA. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
^ Ben Woods (26 March 2015). "How the world's first robot astronaut is helping pave the way for the future of human-android interaction". The Next Web. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
^ "Active Astronauts and Cosmonauts". www.spacefacts.de. Retrieved 2023-07-26.

[Bio-1] Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (July 16, 2014). "Koichi Wakata (Dr. Eng.)". JAXA. Retrieved March 17, 2016.

[2] Ben Woods (26 March 2015). "How the world's first robot astronaut is helping pave the way for the future of human-android interaction". The Next Web. Retrieved 30 March 2015.

[3] "Active Astronauts and Cosmonauts". www.spacefacts.de. Retrieved 2023-07-26.

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