Chiaki Mukai
Chiaki Mukai is a Japanese physician, cardiovascular surgeon, NASDA/JAXA astronaut, and public science leader. She became the first Japanese woman in space and later the first Japanese citizen to fly twice.
- Born
- May 6, 1952
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture,Japan
Flights
2
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
23 days, 15 hours, 39 minutes
Bio
Mukai trained as a physician at Keio University and specialized in cardiovascular surgery and physiology. Her medical background made her especially well suited to Spacelab and life-sciences research during the shuttle era.
She flew STS-65 in 1994 as on the second International Microgravity Laboratory mission. In 1998 she returned on STS-95, the mission that also carried John Glenn back to orbit.
After her flights, Mukai held leadership roles in Japanese space medicine, education, and science policy. Her career connects Japan's astronaut program with medicine, international shuttle research, and public engagement.