Peggy Annette Whitson is a biochemistry researcher from the United States and an astronaut currently employed by Axiom Space. She concluded her tenure at NASA in 2018, having held the position of Chief Astronaut.
Throughout her various missions, Whitson has amassed a total of 676 days in space, surpassing all other Americans and women in this regard.
Early Life & Education
Peggy Annette Whitson spent her childhood on a farm just outside of Beaconsfield, Iowa, where she lived with her sister, Kathy, her brothers, Brian and Hugh, and her parents, Keith and Beth.
Her parents were engaged in farming. After viewing the first moon landing on television during her childhood in 1969, she resolved to become an astronaut.
Whitson completed her education at Mount Ayr Community High School in 1978 and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1981.
Subsequently, she pursued her doctorate in biochemistry at Rice University, graduating in 1986 under the supervision of Kathleen Matthews.
Following this, she remained at Rice as a Robert A. Welch Postdoctoral Fellow until October 1986. She is married to Clarence F. Sams.
Peggy Annette Whitson’s Career
After completing her fellowship at Rice, Peggy Annette Whitson started her career at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, serving as a National Research Council Resident Research Associate.
Between April 1988 and September 1989, Whitson acted as the supervisor for the Biochemistry Research Group at KRUG International, a contractor in medical sciences for NASA-JSC.
From 1989 to 1993, Whitson worked as a research biochemist in the Biomedical Operations and Research Branch at NASA-JSC.
During the period from 1991 to 1993, she acted as the technical monitor for the Biochemistry Research Laboratories in the Biomedical Operations and Research Branch.
From 1991 to 1992, she served as the payload element developer for the Bone Cell Research Experiment (E10) on SL-J (STS-47), and was part of the US-USSR Joint Working Group in Space Medicine and Biology.
In 1992, she was appointed as the project scientist for the Shuttle-Mir Program (STS-60, STS-63, STS-71, Mir 18, Mir 19), continuing in this role until the completion of the Phase 1A Program in 1995.
In April 1996, Peggy Annette Whitson was appointed as an astronaut candidate; she began her training in August 1996. Upon the completion of two years of training and evaluation, she was assigned to technical roles in the Astronaut Office Operations Planning Branch, and she acted as the lead for the Crew Test Support Team in Russia from 1998 to 1999.
In October 2009, Whitson was appointed as the Chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA, succeeding Steven W. Lindsey. She was the first woman and the first non-pilot to hold the position of Chief Astronaut.
Whitson resigned when she returned to active flight status in July 2012, with Robert Behnken taking her place. Additionally, Whitson has commanded the International Space Station on two occasions.
Axiom Mission 4 Launch
Peggy Annette Whitson is the Director of Human Space Flight at Axiom Space. In January 2021, it was announced that she would serve as the backup commander for Axiom Mission 1, indicating the potential for her involvement in a later Axiom Space mission.
On the 21st of May, 2023, Whitson returned to space, assuming the role of commander for the second Axiom mission, known as Axiom Mission 2.
During this mission, she docked with the ISS and spent 8 days in space. Following this, she was appointed as the backup commander for Axiom Mission 3. On June 26, 2025, Whitson commanded the fourth Axiom mission, referred to as Axiom Mission 4.
