Chiaki Mukai

Chiaki Mukai (向井 千秋) is a Japanese physician and JAXA astronaut.

She was the first Japanese woman in space, the first Japanese citizen to have two spaceflights, and the first Asian woman in space.

She graduated from Keio Girls Senior High School in Tokyo in 1971.

She received her doctorate in medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, 1977; a doctorate in physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 1988; board certified as a cardiovascular surgeon, Japan Surgical Society, 1989.

Mukai is a member of the American Aerospace Medical Association; the Japan Society of Microgravity Applications; the Japan Society of Aerospace and Environmental Medicine; the Japanese Society for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery; and the Japan Surgical Society.

Mukai has held positions at several hospitals and institutions.

Mukai has been credited with approximately sixty peer-reviewed scientific publications since 1979.

Mukai was selected to be an astronaut by Japanese national space agency NASDA (now called JAXA) in 1985.

Prior to this, she was an assistant professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Keio University, the oldest university in Japan.

In 1985, Mukai was selected as one of three Japanese Payload Specialist candidates for the First Material Processing Test (Spacelab-J) which flew aboard STS-47.

She also served as a back-up payload specialist for the Neurolab (STS-90) mission.

Mukai has logged over 566 hours in space.

As a NASDA astronaut, she was a visiting scientist at the Division of Cardiovascular Physiology, Space Biomedical Research Institute, NASA Johnson Space Center, from 1987 to 1988.

Mukai has remained a Research Instructor of the Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, since 1992.

From 1992 to 1998 she was a visiting associate professor of the Department of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, and in 1999 was promoted to a visiting professor of the university.

Both were Space Shuttle missions; her first was STS-65 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in July 1994, which was a Spacelab mission.

She flew aboard STS-65 in 1994 and STS-95 in 1998.

She is the first Japanese woman to fly in space, and the first Japanese citizen to fly twice.

STS-65 Columbia (July 8–23, 1994) was the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) flight.

The mission consisted of 82 investigations of Space Life Science (Human Physiology, Space Biology, Radiation Biology, and Bioprocessing) and Microgravity Science (Material Science, Fluid Science and Research on the Microgravity Environment and Countermeasures).

IML-2 was also designated as an extended duration orbit mission focusing on medical experiments related to the cardiovascular system, autonomic nerve system, and bone and muscle metabolism.

The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth, traveling over 6.1 million miles in 353 hours and 55 minutes.

Her second spaceflight was STS-95 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998.

In total she has spent 23 days in space.

STS-95 Discovery (October 29 to November 7, 1998) was a nine-day mission during which the crew supported a variety of research payloads including deployment of the Spartan solar-observing spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, and investigations on space flight and the aging process.

The mission was accomplished in 134 Earth orbits, traveling 3.6 million miles in 213 hours and 44 minutes.

On October 1, 2003, NASDA merged with ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science) and NAL (National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan) and was renamed Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Mukai was assigned the deputy mission scientist for STS-107.

In that capacity she coordinated science operations for this science mission.

Mukai was a visiting professor at the International Space University (ISU) from September 2004 to September 2007.

Between 2007 and 2012, she worked for JAXA, serving as director of the Space Biomedical Research Office, Human Space Technology and Astronaut Department, Human Space System and Utilization Mission Directorate.

In 2009 Mukai was a visiting lecturer at the International Space University.

From April 2011 until 2015, Mukai was a senior Advisor to the JAXA Executive Director.

In addition, she became the director of the JAXA Center for Applied Space Medicine and Human Research (J-CASMHR) in July 2012.

In 2015, she became Vice President of the Tokyo University of Science.

In addition, she became JAXA Technical Counselor.

Chiaki Mukai was born in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture.

In March 2015, Mukai became vice president of the Tokyo University of Science, and is a technical counselor for JAXA.

Since June 2015, she has been Director of Fujitsu Limited and is a corporate executive fellow of Kao Corporation since January 2016.

Mukai has received the following awards: