Crew-13

From Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, explore the world of human spaceflight with NASA each week on the official podcast of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Listen to in-depth conversations with the astronauts, scientists and engineers who make it possible.

On episode 438, NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 members discuss their journeys to becoming astronauts and their upcoming mission to the International Space Station. This episode were recorded in July and August 2026.

Transcript

HWHAP_Crew-13

Leah Cheshier

Houston We Have a Podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, episode 438: Crew-13. I'm Leah Cheshier, and I'll be one of your hosts today. Later, I'll be joined by hosts Nilufar Ramji and Joseph Zakrzewski. On this podcast, we bring in the experts, scientists, engineers, and astronauts. Also, let you know what's going on in the world of human spaceflight and more.

Four spacefarers are preparing to launch to the International Space Station as NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission, continuing the over 25 years of continuous human presence, living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov have completed their training and are ready for liftoff aboard SpaceX's Dragon, named Grace, atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Once they arrive at the space station, they'll integrate with the rest of the Expedition 75 crew members for an approximately six-month mission.

We talked to all four crew members about their journey to becoming an astronaut, their expectations for the mission, and why the work they'll do aboard the space station is so important.

Let's go.

Leah Cheshier

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2017 and is the Commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission. Watkins grew up in Lafayette, Colorado, and earned an undergraduate degree in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University, as well as a doctorate in Geology from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a geologist, she studied the Martian surface and was a member of the Curiosity rover science team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

This is her second flight to the space station, having previously flown aboard NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission, spending a total of 170 days in space across space station expeditions 67 and 68 in 2022. She will be the first NASA astronaut to launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft twice.

Here's my conversation with Jessica Watkins.

Jessica, welcome back to Houston We Have a Podcast.

Jessica Watkins

Thank you so much. Happy to be here.

Leah Cheshier

I'm super excited to see you going back to space this time as the Commander for Crew-13, heading to the International Space Station about six months. That's right?

Jessica Watkins

That's right. Yes, thank you.

Leah Cheshier

Well, before we get into what's coming up, let's talk about you and your backstory a little bit. So, where did you grow up, and what inspired you to be an astronaut?

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, absolutely. So, I grew up in Boulder, Colorado, right at the foothills of the Flatirons, which I think I took with me later in life, which maybe we can get to. But really, what inspired me to be first be an astronaut? I was actually born in Maryland, and while I was there, I attended an after-school enrichment program, and it was at the Judy Resnick Elementary School, and so I remember asking my parents, you know, who she was and what she did, and that was kind of the first time that I had heard about this idea of going to space and that you could do it as a career. And so that was kind of the first time that I I kind of set my sights on that.

Leah Cheshier

That is so cool. Number one, I'm very jealous that you grew up in Boulder, but getting to- I don't know-when something like that is named, you never think about the true impact that it really might inspire someone who goes to school there. So that is so sweet. I love that. So you- it seems like really from that moment you knew that you wanted to pursue human spaceflight. Was there ever anything else that you were semi-interested in, or were you just blinders-on to everything else dead set on this path?

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, no, I mean, I think from that moment it was it became a kind of far-off dream that was always in the back of my head, but not anything that honestly I really ever thought would actually happen. And so along the way, had lots of other ideas about what would I do with my life, and so really for me, what what ended up happening was I fell in love with geology and the ability to research and explore the surfaces of other planets, in particular, in addition to our own, but especially the idea of being able to explore Mars was really exciting for me. And so I, I really fell in love with the idea of being able to use our our orbiters and rovers and collect data on the on the surface of the of Mars in particular, and and be able to understand more about the history of Mars, but also learn more about the geologic history of Earth in the process as well. And so that is really what I thought that I would be doing for the rest of my life until I got the phone call to come here.

Leah Cheshier

No, that's so cool too! Especially when you think about your vantage point on the space station, about 250 miles above Earth. As a geologist, what is it like? Because there have not been many geologists that have been astronauts. What's it like to have that vantage point when you're aboard the space station and looking down at Earth through that lens?

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, it's a pretty amazing experience for me, kind of full circle to be able to, especially see places where I had done field work before, where I had done research on the ground, had boots on the ground, you know, getting to actually touch and feel the rocks there, and then be able to see that from 250 miles up. It was really kind of synonymous or kind of analogous to the work that I have done on planetary surfaces, where we have data largely from orbiters taking images of the surface from a similar kind of orbit above the planet, and then thinking about how different the view is that we are receiving from ISS from what I know to be true on the ground in that particular location. So really thinking about how amazing it's going to be to be able to do that on the surface of the Moon and Mars to really be able to get boots on the ground and compare and contrast those orbital images with the with the field work is just pretty incredible.

Leah Cheshier

No, that's so cool, so exciting. I love it. So yeah, we've talked a little bit about, this is not your first rodeo. This is your second flight, also aboard Dragon. So, did training feel secondhand to you this time around? Was it kind of like you're the pro now, and it came really naturally. Did you remember everything? What was it like?

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, training this time I think was same similar in a lot of ways. Of course, you, not a ton about the International Space Station or Dragon has changed a lot, but there are definitely some some deltas from when I was up there previously, so learning about those. But I think really what being able to fly a second time has enabled me to do is really dig a little bit deeper, but really kind of get into that second layer of understanding of how the pieces really fit together. I think the first time I thought I had a good understanding it, but it has really just kind of allowed me to focus on particular areas and really get that second layer of asking those next questions about how those how those systems work and how we should operate. So it's been really neat to be able to kind of get under that first layer for me, and then also the, you know the opportunity to be in more of a leadership role and be able to focus on bringing out the best in my teammates and being able to bring out the strengths of my crewmates in a way that optimizes us as a team.

Leah Cheshier

That's wonderful, and I want to talk a little bit more about your crew as a team. Tell me about your crew. You've got some first-time flyers, and of course, like I said, you have your own experience. What is the rest of your crew like? How has it been to get to know each other and work together?

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, I have an absolutely amazing crew. I tell them all the time that they don't need me at all, but they're just incredible. I- and it's it's funny. I think all of us are pretty similar in that you know I think our crew is extremely competent, but we're also very calm, and so I think we all have a a bit of of chillness or kind of easygoing that is makes makes it really easy to to get to work together and to to get along, and so that's been been fantastic. They all kind of come from the same spot on that.

Luke, the my pilot, is a marine test pilot. He has flown a million different types of aircraft and brings so much different expertise to to bear, and is able to really just hone in on the right question at the right time and ensure that we are asking the right the right question to to get to to get to the next level of understanding. So I really appreciate that curiosity about him.

Josh Kutryk is the is a Mission Specialist 1, and he is a Canadian. He'll be the first CSA astronaut to fly on a Crew Dragon, so I'm super excited for him. Josh is my classmate. He is a fellow Turtle. We were selected at the same time, so it is. I am so excited and so honored to be able to fly with him. It is a real privilege to be able to to fly with a classmate. So that's super exciting. He is a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force test pilot as well, and just incredibly competent as well. So just super lucky to have him on the crew and in that Mission Specialist spot.

And then our second Mission Specialist is Sergey Teteryatnikov. He is our cosmonaut, and he is a submariner with the Russian Navy. Also just an incredibly hard worker, super enthusiastic. He is super excited about flying a space, and it's really been neat to be able to to relive the experience of going to space the first time through their experience, and really looking forward to seeing that in their faces when we arrive on space station.

Leah Cheshier

That is so exciting. I'm looking forward to it too. There is nothing like the hatch opening moment and watching everybody float through and hug your friends. And it's that is the moment. Launch is great. You know everybody watches launch, but this is a PSA- Do not tune out for hatch opening and docking and all these things, because that's where you get like these just golden nuggets of you are seeing people's lifelong dreams come to fruition. Oh, it's just such a gift to be able to watch it real time here.

Jessica Watkins

Yes, this is the human part of human spaceflight on display.

Leah Cheshier

Absolutely, exactly. So you've flown before. How does that change your perspective and preparation this time? We talked a little bit about Dragon training, you know, and what you know about the space station. But you know, I'm sure for any first time flyer, there are a lot of unknowns that I mean, I personally would be really nervous about. What are some of the things that you know you feel like you've got down pat now. You've got them under your belt. You're not as maybe nervous about this time.

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, I think this time it's certainly flying to space from you know end to end from launch, the, you know being on the International Space Station, returning home. All of it is a a known entity for me now. So there is removed you know nerves or question about that because I've experienced it before. I think in training now, I was always able to execute the procedure or you know do the operation that was expected. But I think now I have more of the aperture's opened up a little bit to be able to ask why we're executing that procedure, or is there a different procedure that we could be doing, or what should we be doing in parallel at the same time? So I think it's just for me a little bit more of understanding how all of the pieces fit together and less of discrete puzzle pieces to be accomplished.

Leah Cheshier

So you also have a difference here on Earth now, based on your last space flight. You have a daughter now, so she will get to watch you launch to space. What's that like? How have you explained that and got her excited to to see you aboard the space station.

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, absolutely. It is it is very both exciting and challenging as well to to have a daughter at home now. Big difference from last time I flew. I think it is is super exciting to be able to try to to bring her into the into the process and try to connect with her, include her as much as possible, and ensure that we have tangible aspects that she can look back on and remember this time. She's three, so not sure how much of it she will really be able to remember, but we can help facilitate some of those memories with with the videos and stuffed animals, things like that. So you know, it is definitely exciting to bring her into the mission, and definitely adds some of the importance of the mission to me. And is a she is a a reminder and a representation of that next generation and how important it is for us to leave a legacy for them that they can can pick up the baton and keep running.

Leah Cheshier

That's incredibly sweet. You're going to win "Cool Mom of the Year" at her school. So cute.

So a little bit more about kind of your free time on the space station. I mean, y'all spend a lot of time working, and I know it is meticulously tracked down to five-minute increments, but you do get typically weekends off and evenings, sort of like we do here on Earth. So, what do you think you'll be spending your free time doing?

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, I think a lot of our free time will be spent talking to friends and family back on Earth. Certainly, we are actually more connected on the International Space Station now than we were even when I flew just a few years ago with capabilities to do video conferences and things like that. So I think we'll take- be taking advantage of that certainly, and then spending time together as a crew, both as a Crew-13 crew, but also with our Soyuz crew as well, 75S so with Anil Menen as well as his cosmonauts as well, Pyotr and Anna. So I look forward to coming together for family dinners, movie nights, watching the the big game, whatever it is, spending that time together as a crew when we're not working is just as important as the time we spend together working.

Leah Cheshier

I know, and I did not know that space cakes were such a thing until recently. Did you guys make cakes in space on your mission?

Jessica Watkins

We did. We did make cakes. We had one of our crewmates had a young daughter, and we celebrated not just her birthday. We celebrated every month that she was turning, so we had a cake every every single month. But yeah, it is it is a a real means of expressing creativity, trying to use the ingredients that are available to you on station to create a space cake. But it's always fun.

Leah Cheshier

That's hilarious. Yeah, it looks like you have to be pretty clever.

What did you love on your first flight that you're looking forward to returning to this time could be something on the space station, could be a feeling, a view, anything like that.

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, I think probably the thing that comes to mind first, of course, is are the views outside the cupola. Being able to see the Earth from that perspective is just something that never gets old, and I don't suspect that it will on the second flight either. Being able to see places that I've lived, places where have loved ones, being able to wave at them and have them them wave back, and places where I've worked as well. I talked about the field sites that I've been to. It's just absolutely incredible.

And then I have some really fond memories as well of nighttime in the cupola and being able to feel the aurora, be able to see the aurora around us, kind of dancing around us in the cupola, and I just really look forward to having those experiences with this crew.

Leah Cheshier

That's insane! I can't I can't imagine, but I can't wait to see the pictures too, because I think you took some really good aurora pictures last time.

Jessica Watkins

My crew took some amazing pictures. Yes.

Leah Cheshier

Okay. Good. Well, we look forward to seeing what your crew takes this time too.

So, rounding us out, you know, we've had the International Space Station continuously occupied by humans going on 26 years now, and they've been doing microgravity research this entire time. Why is that so important?

Jessica Watkins

Yeah, the the way that we are able to conduct research on ISS is truly unique to that environment. The ability to remove gravity from the equation and and really be able to explore what happens in a microgravity environment is truly unique and enables us to do science and to explore even new technologies in a way that we're not able to do on Earth.

One example of how we can use the microgravity environment of the ISS to our advantage and to to help improve life back here on Earth is an experiment that we'll be participating in, where we're able to leverage the kind of accelerated processing of biological material that we see on humans that that explore the microgravity environment, and be able to apply that to the production of stem cell-derived brain and heart organoids. And that type of kind of in-space manufacturing, with direct application to making life here better here on Earth, is why we continue to to do research on the International Space Station.

Leah Cheshier

I think it's so critical, and I I just wish more people understood that really everything that we do is to help benefit life back on Earth in some way, but that we've just seen these payoffs for so many years now already of things that have been done on the International Space Station and are here making life better for all of us down on the ground.

So one last question before I let you go. In your opinion, why do we need to keep pushing the boundaries of exploration?

Jessica Watkins

To me, pushing the boundaries of exploration is really important because it allows us to understand our own limitations, but also understand our own capabilities. It allows us to understand what happens when we find ourselves pushing our own boundaries of human capability in terms of our physical capability, our mental capability, even spiritual. And when we do that in that process, we find out who we who we really are, what we're capable of, and particularly what we're capable of when we do it together. And the difference between how far we can go as individuals and how far we can go as a team, I think, is really illustrated in the work that we do on the International Space Station.

Leah Cheshier

Excellently said. I really appreciate you coming. And sitting down with us today, we are so excited to see you back aboard space station. So thank you!

Jessica Watkins

Thank you so much, Leah.

Nilufar Ramji

Next up is NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, first-time flyer and pilot for NASA SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station.

A Florida native, Delaney was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021 after a career that took him from the United States Marine Corps to NASA's Langley Research Center. Delaney began his aviation career as an enlisted Marine, later earning a commission and serving as a naval aviator and test pilot. Over the course of his career, he flew combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, became a test pilot instructor, and logged more than 3,900 flight hours across 48 different aircraft. More recently, before joining the astronaut corps, he worked as a research pilot and aerospace engineer at NASA Langley, supporting airborne science missions.

Now, as he prepares for his first journey into space, Delaney will serve as pilot for Crew-13, heading to the space station for Expedition 75.

Luke Delaney, welcome to Houston We Have a Podcast.

Luke Delaney

Thanks. Happy to be here.

Nilufar Ramji

I want to hear all about you, and I want our listeners to learn more about you. So let's start with your story. Where did you grow up, and what first inspired you to become an astronaut?

Luke Delaney

I grew up in Central Florida, so I think a big part of the inspiration was watching space shuttle launches because they were easily accessible for me. Just a small town, DeBary, Florida, but had everything I enjoyed, which was being outdoors. You know, hanging out by rivers, lakes, beaches, working some trails. So lots of cool stuff to do.

Nilufar Ramji

You got a little bit of space inspiration, some of the great outdoors, beautiful place to live. So, did you always, based on the shuttle launches and things like that that you saw, did you always think you wanted to be part of human spaceflight in some shape or form, or was there a pivotal moment that changed your outlook?

Luke Delaney

I think it was always in the background. It was never seemed achievable. Just was something I always kind of strived towards. But there was a lot of other things that I enjoyed, and they all kind of fit together for the astronaut role, when it comes to, you know, kind of an interest in engineering, I really love aviation and doing different flight things. I like doing test pilot jobs, so evaluating aircraft that are developmental or experimental. And then all the Marine Corps background, just the training, the living in austere environments. It all kind of blends together nicely for the astronaut role.

Nilufar Ramji

So, thrill seeker and outdoorsy is what my takeaway is.

Luke Delaney

I don't know if I go as far as thrill seeker, but definitely outdoorsy. Yes.

Nilufar Ramji

So, you've been training, What's been the most challenging aspect of your training?

Luke Delaney

Yeah, everybody asks that, and I think I don't have a great answer. But for me, it's the language training, largely because you're not over there immersed in Russia, and you're not getting all that kind of proficiency that you would if you had to operate and live there. So for me, when I'm over there, it's great. I feel like I pick it up quicker. But every other training piece we're doing, where we're traveling or working in other countries, it's it's really hard to maintain any kind of proficiency. So the language stuff's a bit tough for me.

Nilufar Ramji

That's always challenging. Do you? How many languages do you speak?

Luke Delaney

Only one, really, proficiently.

Nilufar Ramji

Right, and others you can you can converse, you can get by a little bit.

Luke Delaney

Yeah, I can get by a little bit.

Nilufar Ramji

So the most challenging part of your training has been the language training, not jumping out of an airplane or dealing with emergency egress situations or anything like that.

Luke Delaney

No, you know I've had tough training. I think in the Marine Corps and even some of the test pilots. That I've done for me, the space training aspect is just truly enjoyable. So I'm enjoying training with the crew. I love working with Jessica, Josh, Sergey. It's just an awesome group to be a part of, and I'm really looking forward to getting up on space station. So I can't complain. I enjoyed it.

Nilufar Ramji

Expedition 75 and Crew-13 will definitely be fun. Let's go back in time a little bit. A few years ago, when you were first selected as an astronaut candidate, you were working as a research pilot at Langley. So, how has that experience influenced your role as an astronaut?

Luke Delaney

NASA Langley, I think it was my first introduction to NASA. Coming out of the military and going to work over there was it was during COVID, so it was an interesting transition to begin with. But just being over there, seeing how airborne science is done and how they're doing it from almost like a subsurface surface level all the way up through orbit assets. So the integrated NASA piece, which I think blends nicely coming over to the astronaut side and just seeing how things were done for airborne science. And Langley obviously does a lot of other work. A lot of my focus was in the airborne side, though.

Nilufar Ramji

So speaking of airborne, you have over 550 combat flight hours, but this is your first time flying to the space station, how has your previous experience helped you prepare for serving as the pilot on this mission?

Luke Delaney

Truly, I look at it's a culmination of a lot of experience for me that has helped. The Marine Corps training was fantastic. You learn to live in an expeditious environment, expeditionary environment. You learn to live in austere locations and operate in small teams, and how you support each other. But also integrating those small teams in a much larger architecture that's similar to how NASA operates as well. And I think the combat hours and time served in different operational environments was really useful too. It just kind of amps up the gains a little bit in terms of performance. It's a more high-risk, high-consequence environment, and that in itself also lends itself to how NASA operates.

Nilufar Ramji

So you're about to go to an austere environment. That's the space environment. You're about to experience microgravity, but you've talked about austere environments a couple of times now. Do you want to tell us a little bit about the places you've lived? It'd be cool to know that.

Luke Delaney

Yeah, we've done, well personally, I've lived all over the U.S. I think one of the unique aspects is being a military family. We moved probably 16 times in 20 years or something along those lines. So…

Nilufar Ramji

Wow, a new place almost every year.

Luke Delaney

We did, and we lived in Japan for a few years as well. So we did some time internationally, but in terms of some of the military operations, so I've been in kind of random environments, but down in Australia, over in Thailand, so kind of the Asia Pacific region. Afghanistan obviously, and was there early, like in the 2001 time frame, when it was really an undeveloped kind of space at that point in terms of operations. Yeah, so just kind of a smattering of locations. But C-130s, you typically go to places where a lot of aircraft don't go because you can land on roads and land on other places.

Nilufar Ramji

So fascinating. That's why I'm saying Thrill Junkie. It's it's part of the M.O. right now.

Luke Delaney

Maybe so, but I definitely I don't know if I classify myself as a high-risk taker when it comes to things outside of space exploration things.

Nilufar Ramji

Okay, so let's speaking of space exploration, let's talk about your Crew-13 mission. You're flying on the SpaceX Dragon with two NASA astronauts and a cosmonaut, tell us about your crew and what's training been like with them?

Luke Delaney

Training's been great, so I think, and maybe everybody thinks this, but I think we got one of the best crews that have been put together. Just coming together with Jessica, who's got the experience of spaceflight and has really been able to tailor the training, kind of manage expectations has been fantastic. Josh hasn't flown before, but he's got this depth of knowledge. He's worked on a lot of programs since he's been here, and I think when you look at his vehicle training and his background, it just-I mean-it boosts the team for sure. And Sergey, he's a motivating human. So watching him operate, he kind of got signed a little late relative to normal assignments, but he has totally taken up that challenge and met or achieved or exceeded really every expectation. It's just a great crew to be a part of.

Nilufar Ramji

Sounds like your short trip up to orbit will be a lot of fun then.

Luke Delaney

It's going to be fun for sure. We actually have some activities planned, so we'll see what happens.

Nilufar Ramji

Do you want to tell us about them? Can you tell us about them?

Luke Delaney

Well, there's some human research science that they're looking to do that they don't typically do on the way up. Looking at how quickly the fluid shift occurs and what changes in the human body quickly like that. And then also some other physiological aspects. We got an ultrasound device to kind of be able to scan ourselves internally and determine some of the things that are going on in there.

Nilufar Ramji

So you're going to be really really busy, and it's your first space flight. Tell us a little bit about what you're most looking forward to?

Luke Delaney

Another question that I get asked a lot, and I think my answer is not great here either, but it's everything. I'm looking forward to every aspect: the ride up, the time. I'm going to get just to stand, sit there, float there, and look out the window. I mean, that to me is going to be a great time. I'm looking for the dynamic pieces. I think those are exciting as well. So the spacewalks, the contingency responses. If we have an issue, like you just, I think you get a mixed bag every day you wake up, and I'm just looking forward to everything.

Nilufar Ramji

It's going to be a lot of fun and definitely very busy. There is a- you talked a little bit about some of the human health experiments on the way up. Can you tell the, tell us a little bit more about those while you're in orbit?

Luke Delaney

Yeah, there's a a lot of human research going on. Some of it's been going on for quite a while because we need to really understand some of the processes that are happening in the human body. When you're looking at blood flow, you have blood flow changes that occur when you're up there, and we need to characterize and understand those better. Not only because it can help us on Earth for folks that are experiencing similar things, but also because for deeper space or longer term exploration, we're going to want to have appropriate countermeasures. We got some other science that's looking at this fluid shift process. So, kind of that persistent fluid shift in microgravity can affect vision. It can have other implications. So, continuing to look at those pieces. Human science in terms of bone density has been going on for a while as well, we know without kind of the effects of gravity, you end up losing a little bone density. So trying to understand that piece better. And then there's sciences that's not specifically human body maybe related, but some of the stem cell things we're going to be looking at also have human implications, obviously. But just seeing how those cells form, propagate, and ways that we can maybe leverage that on Earth and maybe scale it to improve everybody's daily life. Those are the kind of things that I think are going to be really meaningful.

Nilufar Ramji

It sounds exciting. I can't wait to see some of the research that comes out of those those investigations. You mentioned spacewalks, and you will be getting to the space station after a trio of EVAs. There could be some others on the horizon, right? Do you want to tell us about those?

Luke Delaney

Yeah, and it's always hard to predict, but currently, the way the op tempo is, they got us slated for at least three or four spacewalks. Most of those will target kind of power upgrades on the outside of station, and some of the stage has been set for that with this last spacewalk with the installation of the struts that are going to hold the new solar panels that we'll install. We're also looking, the AMS device, so Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. Don't quote me on that.

Nilufar Ramji

You have it!

Luke Delaney

But that device is getting an upgrade as well, and we may do some of the preliminary work there, so that when the hardware gets on orbit, that they can just go out and install it.

Nilufar Ramji

That's definitely going to be another thrill-seeking adventure, being out there on the outside of the space station, traveling 17,500 miles an hour.

Luke Delaney

Yeah, it is one of the things I'm looking forward to for sure.

Nilufar Ramji

How do you hope to spend some of your free time? We've talked about how busy you're going to be, but there will be some downtime, of course. What do you What do you want to do?

Luke Delaney

Yeah. Well, I- looking out the window is definitely a big one, but I think there'll be a lot of people with their heads in the window, so we'll see if we can make space. I do think kind of bringing the family and friends in as much as I can, so the communication piece is actually a little bit more-I won't say advanced, but it's a little more prevalent than I thought it would be on station. With a couple different ways to bring people in, either just like with phone calls or text messages or even FaceTime-style exchanges. So bringing those folks on board to kind of share some of that journey is going to be awesome. And then there's a few fun things I packed, so we'll see if folks on board, how they enjoy that or not.

Nilufar Ramji

Okay, so I was just going to ask you is, you know, you're going to be taking your family and friends along for the ride? So do you have a list of things that you want to see and do on station that we all, as the public, will be able to see? Are you saving that as a surprise?

Luke Delaney

Yeah, I think most of those are going to be surprises. I'm not sure. I'm not saying I'm not sure the cameras will be on for some. No, kidding. It's not. It's not bad. I think. It's things that might be interesting when you think of a microgravity environment that maybe haven't been brought up before.

Nilufar Ramji

All right, can't wait. So let's transition to microgravity and research. I'm going to give you a soapbox for a second. Why is the ISS and microgravity research so important?

Luke Delaney

Yeah, this is pretty huge to me. I think the opportunity that we have having an orbiting laboratory for the last 25 plus years has been tremendous. Not only with the research we've been able to do to date, but with the future research that's really looking to support these lunar missions and beyond. It's one thing to kind of characterize the human body and microgravity, but now we have to be incorporating the systems and the technologies that we need to go further into space. The test bed for that can, and should be, and is the space station. So as we send up tech demos, as we call them, so kind of these technological demonstrations, we want to make sure we're proving out these devices, these systems that are going to support us for longer duration space flights further away.

Nilufar Ramji

What a great segue into my next question. Tell us, in your opinion, why do we explore?

Luke Delaney

Oh, this is an easy one for me. So fundamentally, it's curiosity. I see it. We've added new additions to our family recently, and just watching these babies kind of grow, and as they're starting to understand their environment, their curiosity is definitely driving them to go look at something or go pick something up and try to understand things. That is the basis I think for all of the exploration drive. For me, it's the curiosity of not just discovery, but it's the possibilities. What will we find next that changes the game for everything? And I think we're looking at we're on the precipice of doing things like that with the space economy kind of really revving up these days.

Nilufar Ramji

Well, you are the right person for the job. Thanks for being on the podcast.

Luke Delaney

Thank you for that. I appreciate it, and I look forward to talking again in the future.

Leah Cheshier

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2017, and this mission marks his first spaceflight. Prior to his selection as a CSA astronaut, he served as a CF-18 fighter pilot, flying missions in support of Canada's NATO, UN, and North American Aerospace Defense Command commitments. A native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Kutryk also worked as an experimental and operational test pilot at the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment in Cold Lake, Alberta. Kutryk received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and he is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School in Edwards, California. He has master's degrees in space studies, flight test engineering, and defense studies. Here's my conversation with Josh.

Josh, welcome to Houston We Have a Podcast. Thanks for joining me.

Joshua Kutryk

It is a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Leah Cheshier

Yeah, let's dive into a little bit more about you. So, tell me your story. Where are you from? Where'd you grow up? You know what really inspired you to pursue this path that you're on now?

Joshua Kutryk

Yeah, the I don't know short version of my story. I'm Canadian, obviously. We'll start there. Feel very lucky to be here, working with NASA, launching with this crew.

Childhood-wise, I grew up in a very small, isolated part of Canada. I grew up on a cattle farm. We raised beef Angus cattle. To put some of that into perspective for you, I drove about 30 miles to go to school, and the school had about 180 kids in it from kindergarten to grade 12. So very small town. About as far away, I think, metaphorically from here, Johnson Space Center, as you could ever get.

And so that that is a segue into the second part of your question. Where did the dream start? I don't, I don't know. I know that I had it as a very young child. I wanted to be an astronaut, I do remember looking at the stars and just being in awe, as I still am. But I never, I never, I didn't tell many people. I think about that dream. I had it as a six-year-old, but I kind of it was my little secret because I thought it was mostly impossible. And I still, to some extent, feel that way. I mean, and I still haven't been to space, but I've enjoyed every minute of the journey, and it's still my little goal, and I'm still trying to do it.

Leah Cheshier

That is incredible. I had no idea you're from such a small town. I'm from a small town, but not that small.

Joshua Kutryk

What is your small town?

Leah Cheshier

So we're talking 5,000 people. I had about 100 people in my class, so that feels small compared to Houston, but huge compared to you guys.

So from then to now, you know, having this dream as a six-year-old to the day you applied to be an astronaut, what does that application and selection process look like for Canadian Space Agency, because we don't select that many CSA astronauts. You know, there are a few of you guys in the rotation.

Joshua Kutryk

Yeah, I mean that that's the hardest part is you have to have to do everything right. You have to have what they're looking for and the skills and the work and the degrees and the experience. But you do have to have a lot of things go your way. I've said many times you have to be lucky to a certain extent. I feel lucky. The Canadian Space Agency does not select many astronauts. Jenni and I were selected in what was only the fourth selection in Canada, and you know my own personal experience with this- I applied in 2009. That was the third time they ever selected astronauts? I went right to the end, but I wasn't selected. I was turned down, and I really thought that that was probably the end of the road for me. Fortunately, they did do another selection eight years later, and that time I was I was hired. But you're right; it's it's a challenge just by the numbers of it and by the frequency of it coming from Canada, you you do have to you have to be a little bit lucky, I think. And I certainly feel that way.

Leah Cheshier

Wow. Okay, especially having thought that your dream was over and having to wait eight whole years to potentially even realize it again.

Joshua Kutryk

Yeah, you know, I've I've never thought of it as the dream, the kind of dream that I have to do. I've never, I've never wanted to say, you know, my my life is to be an astronaut, and this dream is so important to me that it's make or break and do that and nothing else. And I, I think that that's one thing that I've I have thought about in the correct sense. So, you know you don't want to go through life dreaming of being an astronaut since you're six years old and investing everything in it because there's a there's a million reasons that are outside of your control for why it will never happen, potentially. But at the same time it's really valuable to have a goal. It's that hard and that impossible. Even if you don't accomplish it in the end, because it it just helps sort of give your life definition and form your decisions along the way, and gives you something to strive for. And you know, the ironic, funny part of it is, I think with with goals like that that are that hard, it maybe doesn't even matter that much if you do it at when you get to your life's end. What matters is that you had it and you structured your life around something.

Leah Cheshier

That's such a good perspective.

Joshua Kutryk

That's my philosophy anyway. I don't. It's not for everyone, but…

Leah Cheshier

It might not be, but I think it's really valuable because if you're not dreaming, then that's kind of a I don't want to say a miserable existence, but you know it does open other doors that you might be interested in that you wouldn't have known about before. So that's very cool.

So tell me about your training a little bit. You have been an astronaut, or you were selected in 2017. Went through, I mean, astronaut candidacy training that two-year time frame, and then after that,

you were assigned initially to the Starliner-1 mission. We've pivoted, and now you are in Crew-13. So you've trained across a couple of different spacecraft. What's that been like for you?

Joshua Kutryk

Yeah, it's it's been of course the road has been full of challenges, but it's been very fun and satisfying for me. And sitting here now, I feel very grateful for that experience. You're right, I I came to Houston almost nine years ago, did basic training, and then I worked in a variety of assignments for NASA on behalf of Canada, but I worked a lot of the flight control. I was a Capcom for the first Demo-2 docking, so that's with SpaceX, and then immediately I did switch gears into Starliner and I started working with that team. I became a member of the flight control team. I was the the ascent and reentry Capcom for CFT. The first time we flew the vehicle with crew on it. It's a test mission. I was a test pilot. I loved that work, and I loved working with that team and helping to fix the problems and flying the sim and doing the development. That was really satisfying for me.

In part with that experience, I did end up assigned to Starliner-1, and so in Canada, we thought that our first mission with this exciting thing called the Commercial Crew Program was going to be me on board the first operational Starliner flight. And for a number of years, about three years I think, we progressed towards that. It didn't work out in the end exactly as we had planned, but nothing- and and you know this nothing in space flight ever does when you think about it, and I you know I was really looking forward to flying on Starliner, but at the same time Canada did have to fly this mission. It's it's a little late already, and we don't have many of them, so we have to to go execute this, and our fastest way to do that right now is on Dragon with Crew-13. And you know, for me, it just means that, as you said, I've been lucky because I've I've got to learn two spacecraft, and I got to do almost it feels like two missions. I I didn't launch on Starliner, but I did the years and years of training leading up to the launch, so I feel really grateful for the whole thing.

Leah Cheshier

That's awesome. Well, you've got a great crew too with Crew-13.

Joshua Kutryk

Very lucky for that too.

Leah Cheshier

We talked to Jessica Watkins a little bit, your commander. The rest of you are first-time flyers. So tell me a little bit about the crew composite, how that's been. You know, tell me about your crewmates.

Joshua Kutryk

I think all all of us, if all four were here, would tell you that we feel very fortunate for the crew that we have. We came together naturally. Certainly, Jessica, Luke, and I. I don't want to. You know, you can be your own judge, but most people tell us we have the same- we're very similar in personality. We're quiet. We're calm. We're not not big personalities, and I think that that has brought us together in closeness. You know, our crew even has been through ups and downs in terms of actually who was going to be on it in the end. That has changed a number of times as the years have gone by. But I would tell you that for the last year, seeing that it was going to be this complement, Luke, Jessica, and myself, with Sergey from Russia, that made us all feel really good, and and you know we feel really confident. I don't think this is true of every mission, but with us, we do we feel confident here pre-launch in our ability to to maintain that cohesiveness throughout this mission. So, lucky to have it.

Leah Cheshier

Absolutely. And this again, I mentioned is your first space flight. So, what are you most looking forward to?

Joshua Kutryk

It sounds like a simple answer, but it is the truth. The thing I'm most looking forward to is the first look out the window, and that goes back to your first question about where did this start? And started as a five, six-year-old kid looking over the stars and wanting to look back on our little planet home, the place where all of human history has happened, and see it as one little thing hanging in space. That's what I can't wait to do. So first look out the window, and then of course all of the science and operations and things that we've trained for years to do is going to be very fun. But we'll get to that. Initially I just want to look at Earth.

Leah Cheshier

I think that would be my answer as well. So I can't wait to hear what is out the window whenever you get the first look. Hopefully, you're in an orbital daytime or over something really cool at night.

Joshua Kutryk

It'll be good either way.

Leah Cheshier

Yeah, absolutely. But you'll obviously be super busy working. Do you think you'll spend most of your free time at the window otherwise, or how else do you think you'll spend your free time?

Joshua Kutryk

Yeah, it's a really good question because we spend years and years and years training to do the work, and what we do with the free time almost ends up like an afterthought. I haven't thought about it a lot. I think that I'm going to try to do things that I do here on Earth. I am a fitness fanatic. It makes me feel good and healthy. I'm a road cyclist. I spend a lot of time riding a bike. I'm going to try to do that in space. A little bit of a different bike. I'm going to do a lot of reading in space, which is another thing that I do a lot of on Earth. And I think that yeah, I will probably spend a lot of time looking out the window. At least I'm going to try to.

Leah Cheshier

What are your genres that you read?

Joshua Kutryk

Historical fiction, and you know specifically to this conversation, I love reading about past generations of explorers. So, and and more past than than space explorers. I'm talking about like ocean explorers and and especially Arctic and Antarctic exploration. I think these stories are just so incredible. A lot of times, here in this job, we look at the risks that we take and the challenges and the things that we do in the isolation, and they seem really daunting. But for me, as an astronaut about to go do this for six months, I take a lot from these stories when I read about whatever Shackleton or some of the first people trying to reach the North Pole, they would go into the real unknown. And knowing that in the worst case they'd never come back, in the best case they'd be back in three or four years, and they took risks that are just almost unfathomable, impossible to imagine today. But they did it. And they don't always succeed, but in many cases, they they do. And I, I like reading about that because it it puts an interesting context of on what I'm about to go do.

Leah Cheshier

That's very true. We are very calculated about our risks, and at that time you couldn't even calculate a risk because for a lot of times it's the very first it had been done, very cool. So you have a bucket list while you're on the space station. Is there like a list of things you hope to see and do?

Joshua Kutryk

I mean, I I don't know if I do have a bucket list. I I want to ride the bike a lot. I want to read a lot. I want to look out the window a lot. I want to reach back to Earth a lot. I I think that's important to me is trying to share the experience, so be that with phone or internet or media or social media, all the all the rest of it. But I want to engage with people who have been in my life up to this point. So try to do a lot of that, and then the the real work. I mean, that's something that all four of us take quite seriously, and we want to we want to do that as best we can. Advance the science, do the projects, fix the things that need to be fixed, and try to do it without error.

Leah Cheshier

Well, when it comes to that public outreach, we are your friends here in public affairs.

Joshua Kutryk

I know. We know who to call.

Leah Cheshier

Call right down, and we'll hook you up. So, when you think about the space station, when you think about that microgravity research you're talking about. Why do you think that is so important for us to continue doing?

Joshua Kutryk

Yeah, there's a. That's a great question, of course, and it has so many answers, and we could talk all day about it. I I like to think about it in in two sort of senses. Why do we do this? The simplest sense to start with is that it brings us a lot of practical benefit. I mean, on space station we do science that we can't do anywhere here on Earth. That's a that's a fact, and we run into discoveries and inventions and innovations that change life for the better here on Earth that we would not have discovered if we didn't go to space. Space is opportunity. If I look at my country, Canada, it has brought to us immense opportunity industrially and commercially. It's advanced our science sectors and entire companies and technology bases. So there's all these really important pragmatic reasons why we do it. It makes life better for us.

But if I go from there to sort of back out a little bit, we do it because because we have to do it, and that's something that we've always done as a species, as humans. We don't know how to not do that, and it would be our demise, I think, if we stopped exploring. We we shouldn't- we we have many reasons for going to space. I want to be clear on that, and I've given you some. But just you know, just the way I see it, I don't. We don't need a reason. We go to space because we have to explore. That's what we've always done. And if you go back in history, we wouldn't have made it very far. We certainly wouldn't be living in the world we live in now had we been content to stop exploring, to not try to cross an ocean or go to the North Pole or the South Pole, as we were talking about earlier. Do all these things, make airplanes fly. Wow, what a world it would be if we were content to not take those risks and not do that. We have to do it. That's that's why we're still here as human beings because we always explore. And right now, exploring means going to space. So…

Leah Cheshier

It's beautifully said. I absolutely love it. Well, Josh, thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast. It's been a pleasure to have you here, and we cannot wait to see you fly.

Joshua Kutryk

Thank you for having us. Always a pleasure.

Joseph Zakrzewski

Our last conversation is with Roscosmos Cosmonaut and Crew-13 Mission Specialist Sergey Teteryatnikov. This mission will be Teteryatnikov's first trip to the International Space Station. He graduated from the Naval Academy, Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 2011, as an engineer specializing in ship power plant operations. Before his selection as a test cosmonaut, Teteryatnikov served in various naval engineering roles, including undersea vessels and specialized engine room operations. He was selected for the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center Cosmonaut Corps in 2021 and has served as a test cosmonaut since 2023.

Sergey, welcome to Houston We Have a Podcast.

Sergey Teteryatnikov

Thank you.

Joseph Zakrzewski

Let's begin with your backstory. Where did you grow up, and what first inspired you to become a cosmonaut?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

I was born in a small settlement in the south of Russia, in the Stavropol region, close to the city of Mineralnye Vody, and when I was a child, I was growing up in a picturesque location that had beautiful nature, rivers, mountains. When a child, I couldn't even dream of flying to space. When I was a child, I wanted to become a navy Seaman. So after graduating from school, I entered a military naval academy, and my area was engineer servicing energy, servicing electrical stations, and I started working on the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Federation, and there later on, I moved to submarines, and as part of a submarine crew, I learned about this open contest to enter the cosmonaut corps. And I decided to make an attempt, and eventually, I got accepted. And in 2021, I was part of it, and now it's my next stage, my spaceflight.

Joseph Zakrzewski

What about your background in the navy has helped you prepare for spaceflight.

Sergey Teteryatnikov

I believe that discipline that I had in my life helped me. I was also practicing different sports. I was in great health condition. I had the great introduction of my crew on the submarine, I felt part of it and also interested in using different equipment, learning about different hardware. I was interested in that, so all of that was like a puzzle getting together me becoming interested in cosmologics.

Joseph Zakrzewski

What has been maybe from your background or even to spaceflight, what's been some of the more challenging parts of your training so far?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

If we take this training in general, preparing for a spaceflight, the most, the most difficult part was fighting oneself, not believing in one's self. Thoughts, hesitating. Can I? Will I be able to? Do I need it? But at every stage, I knew that there were people around me who were interested, who supported me, and the only thing that was required of me was to work and not to have those negative thoughts.

Joseph Zakrzewski

Well, that's a great transition into the next question I have for you: This is your first spaceflight mission. How are you feeling, and how are you managing a lot of those thoughts?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

I do my best to think only about work. I love this experience in general. Every single day, I think about how this work is going to to carry out, what steps we can take that everything is going to be normal and all my thoughts are directed at this training and nominal training.

Joseph Zakrzewski

You're flying this mission on a Dragon spacecraft with two NASA astronauts and Jessica and Luke and then of course Josh Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency, tell me about the crew. What's it been like training with this crew?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

For me, that's a great experience because prior to that, I had no experience working with foreigners. But now I realize that all of us we have the same mission, the same objective. We are all knowledgeable, and I know that each individual has something that I can borrow, that I can pick up, that I can learn. So I do everything I can so that everyone is comfortable.

Joseph Zakrzewski

Well, when you arrive to the International Space Station with this crew, you'll join a full house of people with Crew-12 and Soyuz MS-29. You'll get to reconnect with cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and also Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. What are you looking forward to in reuniting with your fellow cosmonauts?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

Well the first meeting is going to be very pleasant. Again, a new experience, weightlessness. People whom I have seen on Earth and quite often at work. So we'll greet each other, and I'll be glad to see them, and hopefully they'll be glad to see me too. And then, since I'll be taking over from Andrey Fedyaev, I'll be in close contact with him because I'll be taking over everything of what's happening in the space station. Because everything is going to be useful for me, and I'll try to be a good replacement of his and to do what I can.

Joseph Zakrzewski

Has any of the crew or your fellow cosmonaut colleagues given you any advice on how to handle those first few hours, first few days in space to help you get to work as quickly as you want to?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

I remember first advice given to me when I just became part of this Crew-13. Alexander Grebenkin gave me very good advice when I was in Russia. He also had flown on a Dragon. He said, "Relax. You'll be taught everything. Try not to get ahead of yourself. Follow what you are told. Do make every step in its time, and everything will happen the way it's supposed to happen."

Joseph Zakrzewski

It sounds like you like to stay busy. You like to invest yourself in the work, but when you're on the International Space Station, or even going to or from the International Space Station, how do you imagine you're going to spend your off-duty time, your downtime, and what do you look forward to?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

Of course, I have plans on what I'm going to busy myself when I'm free. When training on Earth, I'm all in my engineering duties, but in space, to exist, one also needs to take care of oneself. So for that, I'm going to bring certain books that I want to read, and they're related to the history of my country, of the area where I grew up. This will be of interest to me, and it's going to be my rest.

Joseph Zakrzewski

While you're aboard the International Space Station, is there a list of things or a list of tasks that you're looking forward to seeing or doing while you're on the orbiting laboratory.

Sergey Teteryatnikov

No, I have no list, because a list for me would mean that this is something that I must do. My list is what I'm supposed to do as part of this mission, and in my spare time, it's reading or certain items that will probably come up with my crew, like congrats each other on holidays or just interaction.

Joseph Zakrzewski

Research is incredibly important aboard the International Space Station and the advancement of science to benefit everyone here on Earth. Why is the International Space Station and the research so important in your mind?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

Research, every experiment on board, is a contribution to the future. That is our understanding of the future. So every single piece of research as an area can discover something new for us. If it's materials, a new material. If it's biology, then possibly a new medicine. If it's deep space, maybe we'll discover new planets or new phenomena that take place in space.

Joseph Zakrzewski

From exploring and being on submarines underwater, to now moving to outer space, in your opinion, and thought, why do we explore? Why do we continue to push the boundaries of human spaceflight and human exploration?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

I believe it's just ingrained desire of a human to explore. If we are born, if we learn to talk, to walk, to use a spoon when eating, that means that when we grow up, the same need to develop remains with a human. And on Earth, everything is known, so we turn our gaze to space, to something that has been unexplored.

Joseph Zakrzewski

And my last question to you, Sergey. Curiosity plays a large role in that. What are you curious about to discover and hope to discover or learn more about while aboard the International Space Station?

Sergey Teteryatnikov

Curiosity is a good quality, so I'll try do my best that it doesn't impact my fellow crew members. For me, what I want to do is first fulfill all the duties, and this will be my primary objective. And I want to perform my mission and to understand how all of it works together. I mean, the entire space program. So my curiosity will be directed at use and discovery.

Joseph Zakrzewski

Sergey, thank you so much for joining Houston We Have a Podcast. Spasiba.

Sergey Teteryatnikov

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Joseph Zakrzewski

Thanks for sticking around. I hope you enjoyed meeting Crew-13!

You can check out the latest from around the agency at NASA.gov. And you can catch broadcast coverage of Crew-13's launch to the ISS on NASA+.

Our full collection of episodes, and all of the other wonderful NASA podcasts, can be found at nasa.gov/podcasts.

On social media we are on the NASA Johnson Space Center pages of Facebook, X, and Instagram. If you have any questions for us or suggestions for future episodes, email us at [email protected].

These interviews were recorded in July and August 2026.

Our producer is Dane Turner. Audio Engineers are Will Flato and Daniel Tohill. And our Social Media is managed by Leah Cheshier and Kelcie Howren. Houston We Have a Podcast was created and is supervised by Gary Jordan. Special thanks to the astronaut schedulers for helping us set up these interviews. And of course, thanks again to Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk, and Sergey Teteryatnikov for taking the time to come on the show.

Give us a rating and feedback on whatever platform you're listening to us on, and tell us what you think of our podcast.

We'll be back next week.