Meet Indian-origin American Raja Chari who will soon return from space
Indian-origin astronaut Raja Chari will return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) later his month. The 44-year-old is the commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the ISS.
The Crew-3 astronauts Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer have been living and working on the station since their launch on November 10, 2021.
Last month, he had tweeted about his first spacewalk. He wrote, “1st spacewalk didn’t disappoint & worked w/ @NASA classmate Kayla Barron installing new solar panel structure on @iss. Cameras don’t do it justice, but do give sense of how hard it can be to concentrate when there’s so much to look at.”
1st spacewalk didn’t disappoint & worked w/ @NASA classmate Kayla Barron installing new solar panel structure on @iss. Cameras don’t do it justice, but do give sense of how hard it can be to concentrate when there’s so much to look at. pic.twitter.com/USQPIFOiVv
— Raja Chari (@Astro_Raja) March 21, 2022
During their mission, the crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations. They worked on a variety of plant growth experiments, testing new systems for growing crops and studying potentially drought-resistant cotton plants, NASA said.
In addition, they tested a handheld bioprinter designed to print bandages made from skin cells directly onto a wound, and a miniature scanning electron microscope.
The crew members also installed a new device to support studies on fire safety in microgravity, and conducted one of the first archaeological experiments in space. Working in pairs, the astronauts also completed four spacewalks to prepare the station for upcoming solar array upgrades by assembling and installing modification kits and successfully replacing a faulty antenna on the Port-1 truss structure.
The Crew-3’s SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which they named Endurance, will undock from the space station later this month, splashing down off the coast of Florida to conclude the mission.
Who is Chari?
Chari is the son of Sreenivas V Chari, who is from Hyderabad, Telangana, and American Peggy Egbert. Chari was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported for duty in August 2017.
The Iowa native graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1999 with a bachelor’s degrees in Astronautical Engineering and Engineering Science. He continued on to earn a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, according to Chari’s biography posted on NASA website.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Chari was raised in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He is married to Holly Schaffter Chari, also a Cedar Falls native, and the couple has three children.
.@Astro_Raja, commander of the @SpaceX Crew-3 mission, reveals the name of the #CrewDragon spacecraft as Endurance. pic.twitter.com/bGNWIC4iYj
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) October 7, 2021
At the time of his selection in June 2017, Chari was a Colonel select in the U.S. Air Force, serving as the Commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the Director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. He has accumulated more than 2,500 hours of flight time in the F-35, F-15, F-16, and F-18 including F-15E combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployments in support of the Korean peninsula.
At NASA, Chari reported for duty in August 2017 and completed two years of training as an Astronaut Candidate. He then served as the Director of the Joint Test Team for the NASA Commercial Crew Programme.
Got to see world wide collaboration of space @gctc_ru training w @astro_matthias & @AstroMarshburn for @SpaceX #Crew3 msn. Met 4 @isro astros training for India’s 1st human flight in #Gaganyaan Will be watching them blaze new trail bldg on lsns learned by @nasa & @Space_Station pic.twitter.com/ahv3iiwjuW
— Raja Chari (@Astro_Raja) February 21, 2021
Chari has won numerous awards. He was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, an Iraq Campaign Medal, a Korean Defense Service Medal and the Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal. He was also named distinguished graduate from the US Air Force Academy, Undergraduate Pilot Training, and the F-15E Formal Training Unit.
