Karen L. Nyberg
Karen LuJean Nyberg is an American mechanical engineer and retired NASA astronaut. Selected in NASA Astronaut Group 18 in 2000, she brought mechanical engineering, thermal systems, and human spaceflight research experience into shuttle and station work.
- Born
- October 7, 1969
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Parkers Prairie, Minnesota,United States
Flights
2
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
180 days
Bio
Nyberg earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering and worked in NASA-related engineering research before astronaut selection. Her first spaceflight was STS-124, the shuttle mission that delivered major Kibo laboratory components to the ISS.
She returned to space on Soyuz TMA-09M and served aboard 36 and 37. During that long-duration mission she supported station science, maintenance, visiting vehicles, robotics, and public outreach.
Nyberg became widely recognized for showing daily life aboard the ISS, including sewing and creative work in orbit, while also maintaining the technical rhythm of expedition operations.