Peggy Whitson joined NASA as an astronaut candidate in 1996, but she had already done plenty of work with NASA. A biochemist by training, Whitson spent several years at Johnson Space Center and working on the science team for the space shuttle-Mir program. Since becoming an astronaut, she alternated between working in the Astronaut Office and working for NASA in orbit. She first flew in June 2002 and most recently returned to Earth in September 2017. Between her three flights, she has spent 665 days in space, a record for U.S. astronauts.
Peggy A. Whitson
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the record for the most cumulative spacewalking time by a woman. She has been to space three times and participated in three long-term expeditions to the International Space Station.
Related: Astronaut biography: Peggy A. Whitson
Thumbs up!
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson (left) waves while Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin (center) and NASA astronaut Jack Fischer (right) give two thumbs up during a post-landing photo shoot on Sept. 2, 2017. Whitson spent 288 days in space, which set a new single-flight duration record for women in space. (That record was broken by NASA astronaut Christina Koch in 2019 and 2020.) With a total of 665 days in orbit, she has spent more cumulative time in space than any NASA astronaut.
Full Story: Astronaut Peggy Whitson ends record-breaking space mission with smooth landing
Welcome back!
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is helped out of the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft just minutes after landing on Sept. 2, 2017.
Full Story: Astronaut Peggy Whitson ends record-breaking space mission with smooth landing
Peggy gets a hand
NASA's all-star astronaut Peggy Whitson gets a hand while getting out of a helicopter at the Karaganda airport in Kazakhstan, where the Soyuz MS-04 crew attended a welcoming ceremony.
Full Story: Astronaut Peggy Whitson ends record-breaking space mission with smooth landing
A new record
NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough (left) and Peggy Whitson (right) took a spacewalk on March 24, 2017. Whitson broke the record for the most total spacewalking time for a female astronaut during the spacewalk, which was the eighth of her career.
Related: Astronaut Peggy Whitson breaks spacewalking record for women in space
Setting records
NASA's Peggy Whitson performed her seventh spacewalk during Expedition 50, breaking the record for most EVAs for a female astronaut. She has now done a total of 10 spacewalks.
Spacewalking pro
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson (center) poses with crewmates Shane Kimbrough of NASA (right) and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency ahead of a Jan. 13, 2017, spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
Peggy Whitson in Unity module
NASA's Peggy Whitson garnered the title of oldest woman in space, and first woman to command the station twice with her third trip to the space station.
Related: Space age: Astronaut Peggy Whitson talks aging & spaceflight | exclusive video
Space station prankster
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson pops out of a cargo bag during a prank on the International Space Station on Feb. 13, 2017.
Related: A NASA astronaut just Pulled Off an awesome prank in space
NEEMO
Astronaut Peggy Whitson, Expedition 16 commander, dons a training version of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suit prior to being submerged in the waters of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near the Johnson Space Center in Houston. In 2003, she served as commander of the fifth NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission.
Underwater for outer space
At the Sonny Carter Training Facility inside the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, astronauts Peggy Whitson of NASA and Thomas Pesquet of ESA, crewmembers of Expedition 50/51, participate in a suited, underwater training for the International Space Station EVA Maintenance 7 in January 2016.
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