Deniz Burnham is heading to the International Space Station. A graduate of UC San Diego, Burnham is part of the crew scheduled to launch in March 2027. She will serve as a flight engineer for Expedition 76, working on scientific research and technology tests that help prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The mission will utilize the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft. Burnham will travel with cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The team plans to spend seven months aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Burnham brings a background in engineering and operational experience to the mission. Before her selection as an astronaut in 2024, she worked for over a decade in the energy industry, managing drilling operations and oil rigs. Her career also includes service as an engineering duty officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves and work as a private pilot.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from UC San Diego and a master’s degree from UC Los Angeles. Her path to this mission began with an internship at the NASA Ames Research Center. She stands among a select group of professionals chosen for the 23rd class of astronauts.