Happy birthday, Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli!

Paolo Nespoli, born April 6, 1957 in Milan, Italy, is a veteran of three trips into space.

His first trip was aboard Discovery (STS-120) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October-November 2007.  He conducted science research as part of his mission for the European Space Agency.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-20 in December 2010 to the ISS where he participated in Expeditions 26 and 27.  He returned to Earth in May 2011.

His third trip was aboard Soyuz MS-05 in July 2017 to the ISS where he participated in Expeditions 52 and 53.  He returned to Earth in December 2017. 

He has spent over 313 days in space.  He retired in 2019.

Happy birthday, astronaut Catherine Coleman!

Catherine "Cady" Coleman, born December 14, 1960 in Charleston, South Carolina, has been into space three times.  She received a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in polymer science and engineering from University of Massachusetts.

Her first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-73) as mission specialist in October-November 1995. 

Her second trip was aboard Columbia (STS-93) as mission specialist in July 1999.  The main objective of this mission was the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

Her third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-20 launched in December 2010 to the International Space Station. She was part of Expeditions 26 and 27.  She returned to Earth in May 2011.

Soyuz TMA-20 launched 2010

L-R: Catherine Coleman, Dmitri Kondratyev, Paolo Nespoli

Mission patch 

Soyuz TMA-20, launched December 15, 2010, carried the second crew of Expedition 26 to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Dmitri Kondratyev (Roscosmos), Catherine Coleman (NASA) and Paolo Nespoli (ESA).  The spacecraft docked with the ISS two days later.

The first crew of Expedition 26 arrived on Soyuz TMA-01M in October. 

After 157 day, Soyuz TMA-20 undocked from the ISS and touched down in Kazakhstan May 24, 2011.