Kathleen Rubins

Kathleen Rubins

Kathleen Hallisey Rubins is an American microbiologist and NASA astronaut. She became the 60th woman to fly in space when she launched on a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station on July 7, 2016. Rubins returned to Earth on October 30, 2016, after 115 days in space.

About Kathleen Rubins in brief

Summary Kathleen RubinsKathleen Hallisey Rubins is an American microbiologist and NASA astronaut. She became the 60th woman to fly in space when she launched on a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station on July 7, 2016. Rubins returned to Earth on October 30, 2016, after 115 days in space. She was selected in July 2009 as one of 14 members of NASA Astronaut Group 20. Her return to Earth is scheduled for April of 2021, following the launch of Soyuz MS-18. All future American astronaut trips to the ISS are slated to use American hardware launched from American soil as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

She received a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology from the University of California, San Diego, and a Ph. D. degree in cancer biology from Stanford University Medical School Biochemistry Department and Microbiology and Immunology Department. In August 2016, Rubins became the first person to sequence DNA in space, using a hand-held, USB-powered DNA sequencer.