NASA Selects Axiom Space for Fifth Private Mission to Space Station

NASA and Axiom Space have signed an order for the fifth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch no earlier than January 2027 from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“The award of our fifth private astronaut mission shows that commercial space is not a distant promise, but a present reality,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “By expanding access and sharpening competition in low Earth orbit, these missions are building the capabilities NASA will rely on as we move outward to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We look forward to building upon those capabilities with many private astronaut missions to come.”

Axiom Mission 5 is expected to spend up to 14 days aboard the space station. A specific launch date will depend on overall spacecraft traffic at the orbital outpost and other planning considerations.

“The International Space Station is a critical platform for enabling commercial industry in low Earth orbit,” said Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Private astronaut missions allow the station to be used as a proving ground for new markets and technologies while enabling science, research, and outreach to contribute to a growing space economy.” 

Axiom Space will submit four proposed crew members to NASA and its international partners for review. Once approved and confirmed, they will train with NASA, international partners, and the launch provider for their mission.

“We are honored NASA awarded Axiom Space its fifth human spaceflight mission,” said Jonathan Cirtain, president and CEO, Axiom Space. “All four previous missions have expanded the global community of space explorers, diversifying scientific investigations in microgravity, and providing significant insight that is benefitting the development of our next-generation space station, Axiom Station. The award underscores Axiom Space’s commitment to redefining access to space, fostering international collaboration, and enabling research opportunities in low Earth orbit for the benefit of all.”

Axiom Space will purchase mission services from NASA, including crew consumables, cargo delivery, storage, and other in-orbit resources for daily use. NASA will purchase from Axiom Space the capability to return scientific samples that must be kept cold during transit back to Earth.

NASA made the selection from proposals received in response to its March 2025 NASA Research Announcement. The agency is finalizing the mission order for the sixth private astronaut mission to the space station and will share additional information once available.

Missions aboard the International Space Station, including private astronaut missions, contribute to advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis campaign.

Learn more about NASA’s commercial space strategy at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-space

-end-

Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Anna Schneider / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

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Jennifer M. Dooren

NASA Aims to Advance Hypersonic Flight Testing with New Awards 

While NASA is working with U.S. aviation to explore commercial supersonic technologies, the agency is also looking forward to an even faster era of flight – one of vehicles that can fly hypersonic, or five times the speed of sound. And to further that vision, NASA has issued two awards for studies into vehicle concepts. 

Some types of vehicles – such as rockets – achieve hypersonic speeds by carrying supplies of oxygen to allow their fuel to burn, instead of using the surrounding air. In contrast, NASA’s Hypersonic Technology Project works to advance “airbreathing,” reusable hypersonic aircraft, which take in air as they fly, allowing for much longer sustained cruising at hypersonic speeds. 

Given commercial interest in finding applications for airbreathing hypersonic vehicles, the Hypersonic Technology Project is looking to find ways to make testing and development easier. Two contract awards the project made in August are aimed at helping to provide an affordable bridge between hypersonic ground and flight tests. 

“With these awards, NASA will collaborate with the commercial hypersonics industry to identify new ways to evaluate technologies through flight tests while we address the challenges of reusable, routine, airbreathing, hypersonic flight,” said Dr. Nateri Madavan, director of NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program. 

The new awards went to SpaceWorks Enterprises, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Stratolaunch of Mojave, California, both of which will support a six-month NASA study exploring how current vehicles could be modified to meet the need for reusable, high-cadence, affordable flight-testing capabilities. SpaceWorks, which received $500,000, will focus on the X-60 platform. Stratolaunch, which received $1.2 million, will focus on its Talon-A platform. 

Through these awards, NASA wants industry to help define the capabilities needed to achieve flight test requirements. The work will also potentially support a future NASA Making Advancements in Commercial Hypersonics (MACH) project focused on advancing commercial hypersonic vehicles through the development of infrastructure such as cost estimates and schedule requirements for a potential flight vehicle.

NASA advances U.S. hypersonic research through the Hypersonic Technology Project under the agency’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program. NASA intends for these projects to help lead the way in enabling revolutionary advancements in fundamental airbreathing hypersonic technologies.

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Visualizing Perseverance’s AI-Planned Drive on Mars

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Visualizing Perseverance’s AI-Planned Drive on Mars

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This animation of NASA’s Perseverance was created with the Caspian visualization tool using data acquired during an 807-foot (246-meter) drive on the rim of Jezero Crater made by the rover on Dec. 10, 2025, the 1,709th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The mission’s “drivers,” or rover planners, use the information to understand the Perseverance’s autonomous decision-making process during its drive by showing why it chose one specific path over other options. 

This was one of two drives, the first being on Dec. 8, in which generative artificial intelligence provided the route planning. The AI analyzed high-resolution orbital imagery from the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and terrain-slope data from digital elevation models to identify critical terrain features — bedrock, outcrops, hazardous boulder fields, sand ripples, and the like. From that analysis, it generated a continuous path complete with waypoints, fixed locations where the rover takes up a new set of instructions.  

The pale blue lines depict the track the rover’s wheels take. The black lines snaking out in front of the rover depict the different path options the rover is considering moment to moment. The white terrain Perseverance drives onto in the animation is a height map generated using data the rover collected during the drive. The pale blue circle that appears in front of the rover near the end of the animation is a waypoint.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

For more about Perseverance: science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/

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NASA Honor Awards for Cold Atom Lab Team Members

NASA OUTSTANDING PUBLIC LEADERSHIP MEDAL

Awarded for notable leadership accomplishments that have significantly influenced NASA’s mission. Sustained leadership and exceptionally high-impact leadership achievements demonstrate the individual’s effectiveness in advancing NASA’s goals and image in present and future terms.

Kamal Oudrhiri – For outstanding leadership of the Cold Atom Laboratory, NASA’s first quantum laboratory in space.

NASA EXCEPTIONAL SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL

Awarded for exceptional scientific contributions toward achievement of NASA’s mission. This award is given for individual efforts that have resulted in a key scientific discovery or resulted in contribution(s) of fundamental importance in this field or significantly enhanced understanding of the field.

Jason Williams – For exceptional scientific achievements enabling and performing the first pathfinding experiments in quantum sensing of inertial forces with atom interferometry in space.

NASA EXCEPTIONAL PUBLIC ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL

Awarded for a significant specific achievement or substantial improvement in operations, efficiency, service, financial savings, science, or technology which contributes to the mission of NASA.

Ethan Elliott – For exceptional achievement in generating the first quantum gas mixtures in space and using them to demonstrate dual species matter-wave interferometry for quantum tests.

NASA EARLY CAREER ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL

This prestigious NASA medal is awarded for significant performance during the first 10 years of an individual’s career in support of the NASA Mission. The contribution is significant, in that, for an employee who is at such an early phase of career, the contribution has substantially improved the discipline area.

Sarah Rees – For early career achievement in anomaly recovery and complex operation efforts in support of the Cold Atom Laboratory on the International Space Station.

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