NASA has announced astronauts for the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station. It is targeted for launch on SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than February 15, 2026 and will last six months.
The crew comprises four members from the US, Europe and Russia. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway will serve as mission commander and pilot, respectively, whereas European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev are both mission specialists.
.@NASA has announced the crew for @SpaceX #Crew12: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev will launch to the station in February. The quartet will advance research and technology for future Moon and Mars missions. https://t.co/PFl6zgh0Tn
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) December 19, 2025
“The flight is the 12th crew rotation with SpaceX to the orbiting laboratory as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program,” NASA said in a statement. “Crew-12 will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as benefit people on Earth.”
Meet the NASA Crew-12 astronauts
Jessica Meir – Meir was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013 and is preparing for her second long-duration ISS mission. She was previously part of Expedition 61/62 as a flight engineer and has spent 205 days in space. She also conducted the first three all-women spacewalks totaling 21 hours and 44 minutes. Meir has a bachelor’s degree in biology, master’s degree in space studies and a doctorate in Marine biology.
Jack Hathaway – Hathaway is a commander in the US Navy who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021. Logging in more than 2,500 flight hours, he is experienced in flying 30 different aircraft including more than 500 carrier arrested landings and 39 combat missions. Crew-12 will be Hathaway’s first spaceflight. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and history and a master’s degree in flight dynamics.
Sophie Adenot – Also flying for the first time is Adenot who was selected as an ESA astronaut in 2022. With two engineering degrees, Adenot is also an experienced pilot with more than 3,000 hours of flight time in 22 different helicopters. She specialises in spacecraft and aircraft flight dynamics and has served as helicopter cockpit design engineer at Airbus Helicopters, a search and rescue pilot, and formation flight leader and mission captain.
Andre Fedyaev – Crew-12 will be Fedyaev’s second mission to the ISS. He specialises in aircraft operations and air traffic organisation, with more than 600 flight hours. Fedyaev has previously been part of the Crew-6 mission wherein he served as mission specialist. He has spent 186 days in space and was awarded with the title Hero of the Russian Federation and received the Yuri Gagarin Medal for his achievements.
Controversy around Crew-12
The Crew-12 astronauts were announced a few days after controversy surrounding Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev. He was supposed to be a part of the mission but got removed for allegedly leaking sensitive SpaceX Dragon spacecraft information using his phone. Earlier this month, The Insider reported that Artemyev had photographed sensitive documentation using his phone which is a violation of the US ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) law.
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