NASA Astronaut Portrait: Raja Chari in EMU | Johnson Space Center

NASA Astronaut Portrait: Raja Chari in EMU | Johnson Space Center

Award-nominated portrait of NASA astronaut Raja Chari in an extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is an independent anthropomorphic spacesuit that provides environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for astronauts performing extravehicular activity (EVA) in Earth orbit. Introduced in 1981, it is a two-piece semi-rigid suit, and is currently one of two types of EVA spacesuits used by crew members on the International Space Station (ISS), the other being the Russian Orlan spacesuit. It was used by NASA's Space Shuttle astronauts prior to the end of the Shuttle program in 2011.

Raja took part in his first spaceflight, SpaceX Crew-3, as a member of Expedition 66/67, which launched to the International Space Station on November 10, 2021. Raja returned to Earth on May 6, 2022 after 177 days in space.

NASA Astronaut Raja Chari's Official Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/astronaut-raja-chari/

At the time of his selection as an astronaut in June 2017, Chari was a Colonel select in the U.S. Air Force, serving as the Commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the Director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force.  He has accumulated more than 2,500 hours of flight time in the F-35, F-15, F-16, and F-18 including F-15E combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployments in support of the Korean peninsula.

Image Credit: James Blair

Image Date: April 15, 2021 

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