Thomas Pesquet, born February 27, 1978 in Rouen, France, is an astronaut for the European Space Agency. He went into space aboard Soyuz MS-03 in November 2016 to the International Space Station as part of Expedition 50. He also participated in Expedition 51 before returning to Earth in June 2017.
Oleg Novitskiy, born October 12, 1971 in Belarus, has been in space twice.
His first trip into space was as commander of Soyuz TMA-06M in October 2012 to the International Space Station. He remained on board for Expeditions 33 and 34. He returned to Earth in March 2013.
His second trip was aboard Soyuz MS-03 as commander in November 2016 to the ISS. He was part of the crews of Expeditions 50 and 51, returning to Earth in June 2017.
Soyuz MS-03 crew (L-R): Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy
Mission patch
Soyuz MS-03, launched November 17, 2016, carried three members of Expedition 50 to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Oleg Novitskiy (Roscosmos), Thomas Pesquet (ESA) and Peggy Whitson (NASA).
At age 56, Peggy Whitson became the oldest woman to go into space. Novitskiy and Pesquet returned to Earth in June 2017 after 196 days. Whitson returned in September aboard Soyuz MS-04.
Peggy Whitson, born February 9, 1960 in Mount Ayr, Iowa, holds the U.S. record for spending the most time in space, 665 days.
Her first mission was on Endeavour (STS-111) in June 2002 as mission specialist to the International Space Station. She stayed on board as Expedition 5 until December 2002 when she returned on Endeavour (STS-113).
Her next trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-11 as flight engineer in October 2007. She served as commander of Expedition 16, returning in April 2008.
Her next trip to the ISS was on Soyuz MS-03 in November 2016 as part of Expeditions 50-52. She returned to Earth September 3, 2017 on Soyuz MS-04.
Only seven Russian men have stayed in space longer than Peggy.
L-R: Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy
Mission patch
Soyuz MS-03 took off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, November 17, 2016. On board were Oleg Novitskiy (Russia), Thomas Pesquet (France) and Peggy Whitson (Iowa). Peggy was the oldest woman to go into space, but I don't know of anyone who will actually say that to her. ;)
Soyuz MS-03 traveled to the International Space Station, docking on November 19. It undocked June 2, 2017 bringing Pesquet and Novitskiy back to Earth. Whitson stayed on the ISS until September 3.
