Watch Zena Cardman head to space

Zena Cardman ’10 ’14 (MS) is finally heading out of this world.

The astronaut, who delivered Carolina’s 2024 Spring Commencement address, is the mission commander for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff took place Aug. 1 from Kennedy Space Center. The mission was originally scheduled for July 31, but was scrubbed due to weather.

The four-person crew docked at the space station Aug. 2. At the space station, Cardman and the others will perform research, technology demonstrations and maintenance activities.

A video of the launch is available on a variety of streaming platforms, including NASA+, Netflix and Amazon Prime. Read more details on NASA’s how to watch page.

At Carolina’s 2024 Spring Commencement, Cardman told graduates that it’s OK if they don’t know where their journey is heading, and the definition of success is entirely up to them. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Cardman was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. Before that, she graduated from Carolina with a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in marine sciences. She cited her fellow Tar Heels as inspiration for her space dreams.

This will be the first spaceflight for the Williamsburg, Virginia, native. She was set to travel to the space station on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission in August 2024 but was bumped to allow for the return of two other NASA astronauts.

Cardman’s research in space will focus on preparing for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. She and other crew members will simulate moon-landing scenarios that astronauts may encounter near the lunar South Pole, test strategies to safeguard vision and study plant cell division and microgravity’s effects on bacteria-killing viruses.

The flight is the 11th mission as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program with SpaceX. Cardman’s team is expected to work at the space station for six months.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated now that Cardman’s crew has reached the space station.