Donald Pettit | |
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![]() Pettit in 2002 | |
Born | Donald Roy Pettit April 20, 1955 Silverton, Oregon, U.S. |
Education | Oregon State University (BS) University of Arizona (MS, PhD) |
Space career | |
NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 369d 16h 41m |
Selection | NASA Group 16 (1996) |
Total EVAs | 2 |
Total EVA time | 13h 17m |
Missions | STS-113/Soyuz TMA-1 (Expedition 6) STS-126 Soyuz TMA-03M (Expedition 30/31) Soyuz MS-26 (Expedition 71/72) |
Mission insignia | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Chemical engineering |
Thesis | Coherent Detection of Scattered Light by Submicrometer Aerosols (1983) |
Doctoral advisor | Thomas Peterson |
Donald Roy "Don" Pettit (born April 20, 1955) is an American astronaut and chemical engineer best known for his orbital astrophotography and in-space inventions such as the Zero G Coffee Cup, which received the first ever patent for an object invented in space.[1] He is a veteran of two long-duration stays aboard the International Space Station, one Space Shuttle mission and a six-week expedition to find meteorites in Antarctica. As of 2024, at age 69, he is NASA's oldest active astronaut.