Takuya Onishi | |
|---|---|
| 大西 卓哉 | |
.jpg) Ōnishi in 2024 | |
| Born | (1975-12-22)22 December 1975 (age 49) Nerima, Tokyo, Japan |
| Status | Active |
| Education | University of Tokyo (BEng) |
| Space career | |
| JAXA astronaut | |
Previous occupation | Pilot,All Nippon Airways |
Time in space | 262 days, 18 hours, 51 minutes |
| Selection | |
| Missions | |
Mission insignia |      |
Takuya Onishi (Japanese:大西 卓哉,Hepburn:Ōnishi Takuya; born 22 December 1975) is a Japaneseastronaut selected for theJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2009.[1] He spent four months on board theInternational Space Station in 2016. In March 2025, he arrived at the ISS as part ofExpedition 72/73.
Onishi was born inNerima, Tokyo, Japan on 22 December 1975.[2] He graduated fromSeiko Gakuin High School inYokohama in 1994 and received aBachelor of Engineering degree inAeronautical and Space Engineering from theUniversity of Tokyo in 1998. He joinedAll Nippon Airways (ANA) in 1998 and was assigned to the Passenger Service Department,Haneda airport, Tokyo, where he was a check-in agent and assisted disabled people in boarding.
Onishi completed two years of basic flight training inBakersfield, California and one year of advanced flight training in Tokyo. He was hired byAll Nippon Airways as afirst officer onBoeing 767 airplanes in October 2003, flying both domestic and international routes.
In February 2009, Onishi was selected by theJapanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as one of the Japanese astronaut candidates for theInternational Space Station (ISS). Starting in April 2009, he attended the ISSAstronaut Basic Training domestic program atTsukuba Space Center in Japan.[4]
Onishi arrived at NASA'sJohnson Space Center inHouston, Texas, in August 2009. As one of the fourteen members of the 20th NASA astronaut class, he took part in an Astronaut Candidate Training program that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in ISS systems,Extravehicular Activity (EVA),robotics,physiological training,T-38 Talon flight training, and water and wilderness survival training.[4]
Having completed his training as an astronaut, Onishi was given the opportunity to fly to the International Space Station and engage in scientific experiments at theJapanese Experiment Module space laboratory, as well as in the maintenance and operations of the station.
Onishi joined International Space StationExpedition 48/49 as a crew member. The mission successfully launched on July 6, 2016, and Onishi was expected to spend four months at the ISS.[5] He returned to Earth after 115 days in space.
On September 19, 2011,NASA announced that Onishi would serve as anaquanaut aboard theAquariusunderwater laboratory during theNEEMO 15 undersea exploration mission from October 17–30, 2011.[6] Delayed by stormy weather and high seas, the mission began on October 20, 2011.[7][8] On the afternoon of October 21, Onishi and his crewmates officially became aquanauts, having spent over 24 hours underwater. NEEMO 15 ended early on October 26 due to the approach ofHurricane Rina.[7]
In 2019, Onishi participated, with the colleaguesJeanette Epps,Joe Acaba,Alexander Gerst,Nikolai Chub, andJoshua Kutryk, in theESA CAVES[9] training organized by theEuropean Space Agency and held betweenItaly andSlovenia, becoming a "cavenaut".[10][11]
In 2023, Onishi participated in theESA PANGAEA training organized by theEuropean Space Agency, held between Italy (Bletterbach canyon), Germany (Noerdlingen-Ries crater) and Spain (Lanzarote Island),[12][13][14] together with colleaguesThomas Pesquet andJessica Wittner.
On 14 March 2025, he joined theSpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station as part ofExpedition 72/73.[15][16]
Asteroid163153 Takuyaonishi, discovered by Japanese astronomerAkimasa Nakamura at theKuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory in 2002, was named in his honor.[17] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 18 February 2011 (M.P.C. 73984).[18]
Onishi enjoys flying, playing the saxophone, movies, and hiking.[4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromNASA – Meet the NEEMO 15 Crew.National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 2011-09-15. Retrieved2011-09-19.
| Preceded by | ISS Commander (Expedition 73) 18 April to 5 August 2025 | Succeeded by |
People currently inlow Earth orbit | |||||
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| International Space Station (Expedition 73) |
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| Tiangong (Expedition 9) |
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NASA Astronaut Group 19 ← NASA Astronaut Group 20 →NASA Astronaut Group 21 | |||||||
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| International mission specialists |
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| International | |
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