| Karen L. Nyberg | |
|---|---|
| NASA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | American |
| Status | Active |
| Born | October 7, 1969 Parkers Prairie, Minnesota |
| Other occupation | Mechanical Engineer |
| Time in space | 13d 18h 13m 7s |
| Selection | 2000 NASA Group |
| Missions | STS-124 |
| Mission insignia | |
Karen LuJean Nyberg (born 7 October 1969) is an American mechanical engineer and NASA astronaut. Nyberg was the 50th woman in space.
Contents |
Karen Nyberg's hometown is Vining, Minnesota. She is married to astronaut Douglas Hurley. They have a son. Her recreational interests include running, sewing, drawing and painting, backpacking, piano, and spending time with her family. Karen’s parents, Kenneth & Phyllis Nyberg, still reside in Vining.[1]
Dr. Nyberg graduated summa cum laude with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of North Dakota in 1994. She continued her collegiate studies at the University of Texas at Austin. There her graduate research was centered on human thermoregulation and experimental metabolic testing and control, focusing on the control of thermal neutrality in space suits. This work, performed at the Austin BioHeat Transfer Laboratory, led to her doctorate in 1998.[2][1]
She worked at Johnson Space Center from 1991 to 1995 and received a patent for work she completed in 1991 on Robot Friendly Probe and Socket Assembly. In 1998, on completing her doctorate, she accepted a position with the Crew and Thermal Systems Division, working as an Environmental Control Systems Engineer to improve space suit thermal control systems and evaluate firefighter suit cooling technologies. She also provided conceptual designs of the thermal control system for the Advanced Mars and Lunar Lander Mission studies, and environmental control system analysis for a collapsible hyperbaric chamber.[2][1]
She was selected as an Astronaut Candidate by NASA in July 2000 and after two years of training and evaluation, she qualified as a Mission Specialist and was assigned for technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch where she served as Crew Support Astronaut for the Expedition 6 crew during their six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. In July 2006, Nyberg took part in NEEMO 10, a deep-sea training and simulation exercise at the Aquarius underwater laboratory to help NASA prepare for the return of astronauts to the moon and eventual manned missions to Mars. Nyberg and her crewmates lived and worked underwater for seven days.[3][4]
Nyberg was assigned [5] to the crew of STS-124 which flew to the International Space Station in May 2008. This was the second of three flights to launch components to complete the Japanese Kibō laboratory.[1] In May 2009, she had been assigned to the crew of the STS-132 mission, which launched in May 2010;[6] however, she had to be replaced three months later due to a temporary medical condition. Nyberg was assigned to a technical role while she awaits a future assignment.[7]
Dr. Nyberg has been assigned to the Expedition 36 crew as a flight engineer and is scheduled to fly to the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-09M in May 2013.
She has won a host of awards including the UND Young Alumni Achievement Award (2004), Space Act Award (1993); NASA JSC Patent Application Award (1993); NASA Tech Briefs Award (1993); NASA JSC Cooperative Education Special Achievement Award (1994); Joyce Medalen Society of Women Engineers Award (1993–94); D.J. Robertson Award of Academic Achievement (1992) and University of North Dakota School of Engineering & Mines Meritorious Service Award (1991–1992).[1]
|
||||||||||||||||