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Mukai, Chiaki

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Mukai Credit: www.spacefacts.de

Status: Inactive; Active 1985-2015. Born: 1952-05-06. Spaceflights: 2 . Total time in space: 23.65 days. Birth Place: Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture.

Educated Keio.

NAME: Chiaki Mukai (M.D., Ph.D.)

NASDA Astronaut (Payload Specialist)

PERSONAL DATA:

Born May 6, 1952, in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Married to Makio Mukai, M.D., Ph.D. Recreational interests include snow skiing, Alpine competitive skiing, bass fishing, scuba diving, tennis, golf, photography, American Literature, and traveling.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Keio Girls' School in Tokyo, in 1971. She received her doctorare in Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, 1977; a doctorate in physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 1988; board certified as a cardiovascular surgeon, Japan Surgical Society, 1989.

ORGANIZATIONS:

The American Aerospace Medical Association; Japan Society of Microgravity Applications; Japan Society of Aerospace and Environmental Medicine; Japanese Society for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery; Japan Surgical Society.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Outstanding Service Award - The Society of Japanese Women Scientist (1996), Special Congressional Recognition - U.S. Congress (1995), Happy Hands Award - Satte Junior Chamber of Commerce (1995), Aeromedical Association of Korea Honorary Membership (1995), Tatebayashi Children's Science Exploratorium Honorary President (1995), Prime Minister's Special Citation for Contributions to Gender Equality (1995), The De La Vaux Medal - The Federation Aeronautique Internationale(1995), The Award for Distinguished Service in Advancement of Space Biology - Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space (1995), Prime Minister's Special Citation (1994), Minister of State for Science and Technology's Commendation (1994 & 1992), People of Gunma Prefecture's Certificate of Appreciation (1994), Honorary Citizen of Tatebayashi City (1994), Outstanding Service Award - National Space Development Agency of Japan (1994 & 1992), Award for Distinguished Accomplishments - Tokyo Women's Foundation ( 1994) and Commendation for Technology - Japan Society of Aeronautical and Space Science ( 1993).

PUBLICATIONS:

Dr. Mukai is credited with approximately sixty publications since 1979.

EXPERIENCE:

Board certified for Medicine in 1977. From 1977 through 1978, Dr. Mukai worked as a Resident in General Surgery, Keio University Hospital, Tokyo. She was on the Medical Staff in General Surgery, Shimizu General Hospital, Shizuoka Prefecture in 1978, and on the Medical Staff in Emergency Surgery, Saiseikai Kanagawa Hospital, Kanawaga Prefecture in 1979. Dr. Mukai began her work as a Resident in Cardiovascular Surgery, Keio University Hospital in 1980 and served on the Medical Staff in Cardiovascular Surgery, Saiseikai Utsunomiya Hospital, Tochigi Prefecture in 1982. She returned to Keio University Hospital in 1983 as the Chief Resident in Cardiovascular Surgery, and was later promoted to Assistant Professor of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Keio University.

As a NASDA science astronaut, she became a visiting scientist of the Division of Cardiovascular Physiology, Space Biomedical Research Institute, NASA Johnson Space Center from 1987 through 1988. Dr. Mukai remains a Research Instructor of the Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas and a visiting associate professor of the Department of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, respectively since 1992.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

In 1985, Dr. Mukai was selected by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), as one of three Japanese Payload Specialist candidates for the First Material Processing Test (Spacelab-J) onboard the U.S. Space Shuttle mission STS-47. She flew again in 1994 on The Second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) (STS-65) mission as a Payload Specialist. The mission consisted of 82 investigations of Space Life Science (Human Physiology, Space Biology, Radiation Biology, and Bioprocessing) and Microgravity Science (Material Science, Fluid Science and Research on the Microgravity Environment and Countermeasures). IML-2 was also designated as an extended duration orbit mission focusing on medical experiments related to the cardiovascular system, autonomic nerve system, and bone and muscle metabolism.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:

A NASDA science astronaut, Dr. Chiaki Mukai is currently assigned as a payload specialist candidate on the Neurolab (STS-90) mission, scheduled for Shuttle launch in March, 1998.

• Birth of Chiaki Mukai - . Nation: Japan. Related Persons: Mukai. Japanese physician payload specialist astronaut 1985-2015. Surgeon, first Japanese female astronaut. 2 spaceflights, 23.7 days in space. Flew to orbit on STS-65 (1994), STS-95..

• STS-81-G (cancelled) - . Crew: Mohri, Mukai. Backup Crew: Doi. Payload: Spacelab-J. Nation: USA. Program: STS. Flight: STS-81-G. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Challenger. Planned Spacelab-J shuttle mission. Cancelled after Challenger disaster. .

• STS-65 - . Call Sign: Columbia. Crew: Cabana, Chiao, Halsell, Hieb, Mukai, Thomas, Walz. Backup Crew: Favier. Payload: Columbia F17 / EDO. Mass: 10,811 kg (23,834 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-65. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Columbia. Duration: 14.75 days. Decay Date: 1994-07-23 . USAF Sat Cat: 23173 . COSPAR: 1994-039A. Apogee: 249 km (154 mi). Perigee: 239 km (148 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 89.40 min.

  Carried IML-2; microgravity, biology experiments. Payloads: International Microgravity Laboratory (IML) 2, Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE), Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS), Military Applications of Ship Tracks (MAST), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX).

• Landing of STS-65 - . Return Crew: Cabana, Chiao, Halsell, Hieb, Mukai, Thomas, Walz. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Cabana, Chiao, Halsell, Hieb, Mukai, Thomas, Walz. Program: Spacelab. Flight: STS-65. STS-65 landed at 10:39 GMT. .

• STS-90 - . Call Sign: Columbia. Crew: Altman, Buckey, Hire, Linnehan, Pawelczyk, Searfoss, Williams, Dave. Backup Crew: Dunlap, Mukai. Payload: Columbia F25 / Spacelab LM Eurolab. Mass: 115,900 kg (255,500 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: Bremen. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-90. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Columbia. Duration: 15.91 days. Decay Date: 1998-05-03 . USAF Sat Cat: 25297 . COSPAR: 1998-022A. Apogee: 274 km (170 mi). Perigee: 247 km (153 mi). Inclination: 39.00 deg. Period: 89.70 min.

  Columbia rolled out to pad 39B on March 23. Payloads:

  • Spacelab transfer tunnel
  • Spacelab Long Module, with Neurolab experiments for the following life science studies:
    • Chronic Recording of Otolith Nerves in Microgravity
    • Development of the Aortic Baroreflex under Conditions of Microgravity
    • Neural-Thyroid Interaction on Skeletal Isomyosin Expression in OG
    • Spatial Orientation of the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex and Velocity Storage
    • Autonomic Neuroplasticity in Weightlessness

  • Extended Duration Orbiter pallet
  • Two Get Away Special beams with canisters G-197, G-467, G-772 (Colorado's COLLIDE experiment, which collided small particles into each other to simulate the formation of planets and rings).

  The Neurolab mission was managed by NASA-Johnson at Houston, unlike earlier Spacelab flights which were NASA-Marshall/Huntsville's responsibility. Landed at Kennedy Space Center May 3 1998.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 01 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  The Shuttle Discovery blasted off into a cloudless sky today at 1:19 p.m. Central time from the Kennedy Space Center to kick off a planned nine-day scientific research mission and to return John Glenn to space, 36 years, 8 months and nine days after he became the first American to orbit the Earth. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 02 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Curbeam, Glenn, Mukai, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. The crew of Discovery sailed through an opening day in orbit this afternoon, staying ahead of schedule for the most part as they prepared the spacecraft and a slate of more than 80 experiments for nine days in orbit.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - . Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Payload: Discovery F25. Mass: 116,884 kg (257,685 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: Douglas. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-95. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Discovery. Duration: 8.91 days. Decay Date: 1998-11-07 . USAF Sat Cat: 25519 . COSPAR: 1998-064A. Apogee: 557 km (346 mi). Perigee: 536 km (333 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 95.60 min.

  The flight of STS-95 provoked more publicity for NASA than any other flight in years, due to the presence of ex-astronaut Senator John Glenn on the crew, which also included the first Spanish astronaut, Pedro Duque. The US Navy PANSAT student satellite was deployed on Oct 30 into a 550 km x 561 x 28.5 degree orbit. The Spartan 201 satellite was deployed from Discovery on November 1 and retrieved on November 3. Spartan 201 was on its fifth mission to observe the solar corona. The data on this mission would be used to recalibrate the SOHO satellite which recently resumed observation of the Sun following loss of control. Discovery landed at 17:03:31 GMT November 7 on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 03 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's astronauts will spend their first full day in space supporting wide-ranging activities, from releasing a small communications satellite to studying the behavior of materials at an atomic level.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 05 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Mukai, Parazynski. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Medical investigations will begin in earnest today as Discovery's crew moves forward with research comparing the changes the human body goes through when making trips into orbit with the changes that occur as part of the natural aging process on Earth.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 08 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Glenn, Mukai, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's crew released a second satellite today, a telescope package that will fly free of the Shuttle for two days to study the sun and the solar wind, research that may help scientists better understand a phenomenon that sometimes can cause widespread disruptions of communications and power supplies on Earth. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 09 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Husband, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's astronauts were awakened at 6 a.m. Central time this morning by Andy Williams' rendition of the 1962 Academy Award winning song, "Moon River." Annie Glenn requested the song as a tribute to the longstanding friendship between Williams and her husband, Payload Specialist John Glenn. The seven crew members are looking forward to some free time today, following yesterday's successful deployment of the Spartan solar physics satellite, which will study the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere until it is retrieved by Discovery tomorrow. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 10 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's crew took a few hours break from the continuous pace of research activity on board today, a standard rest period for the crew that is planned during longer shuttle flights.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 12 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  The SPARTAN satellite was captured and returned to its berth this afternoon, successfully completing its two-day solar science mission. SPARTAN Mission Manager Craig Toohey congratulated the crew and flight control team on their performance in executing the mission exactly as planned. Toohey said that 30 percent of the science data already had been linked to the ground and the remainder would be off-loaded at landing. SPARTAN Scientist Dr. Richard Fisher noted that investigators were pleased to have the satellite in orbit near a solar maximum cycle and that its instruments had captured sought-after data on a solar mass ejection event. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 11 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's astronauts began the second half of their flight at 5:25 a.m. Central time this morning to the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughn's "If the House is A-Rockin," in honor of Mission Specialist Steve Robinson. Robinson is known as "Stevie Ray Robinson" by the other members of the astronaut band known as "Max Q". After enjoying a break in their schedule yesterday, the crew is focusing its attention on this afternoon's retrieval of the Spartan solar physics satellite, which has spent the past two days studying the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere. Retrieval is set for 2:45 p.m. Central time. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 13 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Music from Japan awakened Discovery's astronauts at 4:50 a.m. Central time this morning. "Wakaki Chi," a cheering song from Keio University where Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai received her medical degree, was played in recognition of the phone call she will receive at 2:55 p.m. from Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Minister of State for Science and Technology, Yutaka Takeyama. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 14 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  The seventh day in orbit for Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member astronaut crew was packed with ongoing science operations. Early in the day, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, assisted by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, tested the Orbiter Space Vision System. OSVS uses special markings on Spartan and the shuttle cargo bay to provide an alignment aid for the arm's operator using shuttle television images. This was its final on-orbit test before going into operational use on the next Space Shuttle flight in December as an aid in using the arm to join together the first two modules of the International Space Station. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 16 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Some of the 80-plus experiments aboard Discovery were being wrapped up today as the end of the STS-95 mission approaches. Others will continue through Friday afternoon, the final full day on orbit.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 15 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. The Moody Blues awakened Discovery's seven astronauts at 4:15 a.m. Central time this morning for their eighth day of on-orbit science activities. The song, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere," was chosen by Commander Curt Brown's family.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 20 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's astronauts glided to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center today to wrap up a nine-day, 3.6 million mile mission which marked the return of John Glenn to orbit and saw the crew members successfully conduct more than 80 scientific experiments. Additional Details: here....

• Landing of STS-95 - . Return Crew: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. STS-95 landed at 17:03 GMT. .