Donald Pettit

Donald Pettit
Pettit in 2024
Born
Donald Roy Pettit

(1955-04-20) April 20, 1955 (age 69)
EducationOregon State University (BS)
University of Arizona (MS, PhD)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
439 days, 4 hours, 15 minutes [refresh]
(currently in space)
SelectionNASA Group 16 (1996)
Total EVAs
2
Total EVA time
13 hours and 17 minutes
Missions
Mission insignia
Scientific career
FieldsChemical engineering
ThesisCoherent Detection of Scattered Light by Submicrometer Aerosols (1983)
Doctoral advisorThomas Peterson

Donald Roy Pettit (born April 20, 1955) is an American astronaut and chemical engineer best known for his orbital astrophotography and in-space inventions such as the Zero G Coffee Cup, which received the first ever patent for an object invented in space.[1] He is a veteran of two long-duration stays aboard the International Space Station (with a third stay currently underway), one Space Shuttle mission and a six-week expedition to find meteorites in Antarctica. As of 2024, at age 69, he is NASA's oldest active astronaut.

  1. ^ "#WhyIMake | Don Pettit". YouTube. InfoSys Foundation USA. February 6, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2024.