Dr. Norishige Kanai, born December 5, 1976 in Tokyo, Japan, went into space aboard Soyuz MS-07 to the International Space Station in December 2015. He was part of the crews for Expeditions 54 and 55. In July 2015, he participated as an aquanaut in the Aquarius underwater laboratory as part of the NEEMO 20 crew.
Richard "Ricky" Arnold, born November 26, 1963 just down the road from here in Cheverly, Maryland, has been in space twice. He attended Frostburg State University in Maryland, getting a degree in accounting and then completed teacher certification there. He got a Master's Degree from the University of Maryland in 1992.
His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-119) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in March 2009. He conducted two EVAs during the mission with fellow astronauts Steven Swanson and Joe Acaba.
His second mission was aboard Soyuz MS-08, launched in March 2018 to the International Space Station as part of the crew of Expedition 55 with fellow astronauts Oleg Artemyev and Andrew Feustel. They spent over 196 days in space, returning to Earth in October 2018.
Scott Tingle, born July 19, 1965 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, went into space aboard Soyuz MS-07 in December 2017. He stayed on the International Space Station until June 2018 as part of Expeditions 54 and 55. He performed his first EVA in January 2018 with fellow astronaut Mark Vande Hei.
Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, born February 20, 1972 in Sevastopol, Ukraine, is a veteran of three space flights to the International Space Station. He has served as an instructor and pilot for the Russian Air Force.
His first flight was as commander of Soyuz TMA-22, which launched in November 2011 and returned to Earth in April 2012. He served as flight engineer for Expeditions 29 and 30. He made on EVA during the mission with fellow cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, which lasted 6 hours, 15 minutes.
His second flight was as commander of Soyuz TMA-15M, launched in November 2014 and returned to Earth June 2015 after 199 days in space. Shkaplerov's total time in space was up to 365 days. He was part of Expeditions 42 and 43.
His third flight was as commander of Soyuz MS-07, launched in December 2017 and returned to Earth in June 2018 after 166 days. He participated in Expeditions 54 and 55. He performed another EVA with fellow cosmonaut and Expedition 54 commander Alexander Misurkin, which lasted 8 hours, 13 minutes, the longest Russian spacewalk ever.
Oleg Artemyev, born December 28, 1970 in Riga, Latvia, has been in space twice.
His first mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-12M, which launched in March 2014 to the International Space Station. He took part in Expeditions 39 and 40, returning to Earth in September after 169
His most recent trip into space was aboard Soyuz MS-08, from March to October of this year. He was part of Expeditions 55 and 56. He spent about 197 days aboard the ISS.
Andrew "Drew" Feustel, born August 25, 1965 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is an astronaut for NASA, a veteran of two space shuttle missions, and is currently commander of the International Space Station.
His first mission into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-125) in May 2009 as mission specialist. It was the fifth servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.
His second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-134) as mission specialist. This was the next to last flight of the space shuttle program.
He is currently on his third mission and is commander of Expedition 56. He blasted off on Soyuz MS-08 to the International Space Station, initially as part of Expedition 55. He will return to Earth sometime this month.
Soyuz MS-08 crew (L-R): Ricky Arnold, Oleg Artemyev, Andrew Feustel
Mission patch
Soyuz MS-08, launched yesterday, March 21, 2018, is on its way to the International Space Station, carrying members of Expedition 55 and 56. Its crew consists of Commander Oleg Artemyev (Roscosmos), Andrew Feustel and Richard "Ricky" Arnold, both of NASA. They will dock with the station tomorrow, March 23.
They will join the current crew, Anton Shkaplerov, Scott Tingle and Norishige Kanai, already on board.
