http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/mark-t-vande-hei http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Houston, Texas 77058

February 2024

Mark T. Vande Hei

(Colonel, U.S. Army Retired) NASA Astronaut

Summary:

Born in Virginia, then raised in New Jersey and Minnesota, Vande Hei earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Saint 

John's University and a Master of Science in Applied Physics from Stanford University. While an Army officer, he served 

two combat tours in Iraq, one as a combat engineer, the second as a space operations officer. Vande Hei also taught 

physics at the US Military Academy. Selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in 2009, he has since had two space 

flights, most recently extending the record for a continuous US spaceflight to 355 days. Vande Hei has spent 523 days in 

space and conducted four space walks totaling more than 26 hours.

Personal Data:

Vande Hei and his wife, Julie, are the proud parents of two adult children. He enjoys exercise, backpacking, watersports 

and reading. His parents, Thomas and Mary Vande Hei, reside in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

Education:

Saint Joseph’s High School, Metuchen, New Jersey; Benilde-Saint Margaret’s High School, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota; 

Bachelor of Science in Physics, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota; Master of Science in Applied Physics, 

Stanford University, Stanford, California.

Experience:

Vande Hei was commissioned through the ROTC program immediately following graduation from Saint John's University. 

After graduating from Ranger School, he reported to the 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment (Airborne Battalion 

Combat Team), Caserma Ederle, Italy. Vande Hei’s roles there included platoon leader and cold-weather-training officer. 

As a combat-engineer platoon leader, he served in Iraq during Operation Provide Comfort.

Vande Hei was in the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Carson, Colorado where he served in the staff of the 

299th and 4th Engineer Battalions, then as the commander of C Company, 4th Engineer Battalion. He has served as an 

assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering for the United States Military Academy, West 

Point, New York. He has also served as an Army space support team leader and battalion operations officer in the Army’s 

1st Space Battalion at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. As an Army space support team leader, Vande Hei deployed 

to Iraq for 12 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Other military training Vande Hei completed includes the Army Air Assault Course, Parachutist Course, German Winter 

Operations Course, and Command and General Staff College.

NASA Experience:

Prior to his selection as an astronaut candidate, Vande Hei served in the mission control center at NASA’s Johnson Space 

Center (JSC) as an International Space Station capsule communicator, supporting Expeditions 15 to 20 and STS-122, 123, 

124, 126 and 127. Since becoming a NASA Astronaut, he has served as the Astronaut Office’s Director of Operations in 
http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/mark-t-vande-hei http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts

Mark T. Vande Hei

Star City, Russia; retired from the Army; served as the Technical Assistant for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations 

Mission Directorate in Washington, DC; served as the Assistant to the Chief Astronaut for Extravehicular Activity and 

Robotics; and is currently the Associate Director for Technical in JSC’s Flight Operations Directorate.

Spaceflight Experience:

Expedition 53/54 (September 13 through February 28, 2018). Vande Hei, serving as flight engineer 1 on Soyuz MS-06, 

launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan with NASA Astronaut Joe Acaba and Russian Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. 

During the mission the crew marked the beginning of the first long-term increase in crew size on the U.S. segment of the 

International Space Station, enabling NASA to double the time dedicated to research. During this, his first mission, 

Vande Hei ventured outside the space station on four spacewalks to perform work that included replacing and 

lubricating the latching end effectors on both ends of Canadarm2. He returned to Earth after 168 days in space.

Expedition 65/66 (April 9, 2021 through March 30 2022). Vande Hei, serving as flight engineer 2 on Soyuz MS-18, 

launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan with Russian Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov. After 355 days on the 

International Space Station, he returned to the Earth on Soyuz MS-19 along with crewmates Pyotr Dubrov and Anton 

Shkaplerov. While on board the International Space Station, he worked to maintain the Station and further its science 

objectives along with the crews of three Dragon spacecraft and five Soyuz spacecraft.

Awards/Honors:

Legion of Merit; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Joint Meritorious Unit Award; Southwest Asia Service Medal; 

Humanitarian Service Medal; various other campaign and service awards; NASA Distinguished Service Medal; NASA 

Space Exploration Medal; NASA Spaceflight Medal; NASA Superior Achievement Medal; NASA Achievement Medal; 

former captain of the Saint John’s Ranger Challenge Team; Doctor of Science, Honoris causa, Saint John’s University.

Organizations:

Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States; Member of Sigma Pi Sigma; the physics honor society; 

Volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for the Harris County Emergency Corps.

Pronunciation:

MARK VAN-duh HI