Blue Origin Announces Crew for New Shepard’s 26th Mission

Blue Origin has revealed the six-person crew set to fly on its NS-26 mission. This marks the eighth human flight for the New Shepard program and the 26th mission in its history.

The crew members include Nicolina Elrick, Rob Ferl, Eugene Grin, Dr. Eiman Jahangir, Karsen Kitchen, and Ephraim Rabin. Notably, Karsen Kitchen will become the youngest woman ever to cross the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.

A significant highlight of this mission is Rob Ferl, who will be the first NASA-funded researcher to conduct an experiment as part of a commercial suborbital space crew. His experiment is designed to help scientists understand how plant genes react to the transition to and from microgravity. Ferl will activate a device called a Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tube, or KFT, to “fix” or take a snapshot of the gene activity of an Arabidopsis thaliana plant inside the tube so researchers can later study it in the lab. On the ground, co-investigator Anna-Lisa Paul will track Ferl’s actions and activate identical control KFTs at the same four times during the flight.

To date, the New Shepard program has flown 37 humans above the Kármán line.

Nicolina Elrick

Nicolina Elrick is a philanthropist and entrepreneur with a career that spans high fashion modeling, property development, and founding multiple IT corporations in the 1990s. A graduate of CoachU and a vocal advocate for STEM education, Nicolina has dedicated her life to mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs. Her forthcoming biography, "Grit, Diamonds, Stars," delves into her journey, offering insights into overcoming hardship with grace and determination. Based in Singapore, Nicolina is a certified helicopter pilot and a spirited explorer with a love for cars, fine wine, and the occasional cigar.

Rob Ferl

Rob Ferl is a distinguished professor and director of the Astraeus Space Institute at the University of Florida. He has spent his career studying how living organisms respond to extreme conditions, especially microgravity. Ferl and his colleagues have conducted numerous experiments on the International Space Station that have shown plants turn certain genes on and off in response to changes in gravity. They were also the first to prove that plants could grow in lunar soil collected during the Apollo missions. Ferl is a national leader in space policy, having recently chaired a National Academies of Sciences committee on the direction of space biology research over the next decade.

Ferl received funding for this technology flight test through a NASA TechFlights grant by the agency’s Flight Opportunities program as well as from NASA’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences.

Eugene Grin

Eugene Grin was born in Ukraine and emigrated to the United States in 1979, where he started his career in real estate and finance. His passions include meditation, travel, and adventure sports. He lives in upstate New York and has four children.

Dr. Eiman Jahangir

Dr. Eiman Jahangir is a cardiologist and Associate Professor of Medicine and Radiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he treats patients with heart disease and educates future physicians. Outside of medicine, he has a passion for exploration, including a lifelong dream of going to space. Over the past two decades, Jahangir has participated in analog astronaut missions and trained in various aspects of human spaceflight. This mission not only fulfills his dream but also represents his vision of making space accessible to everyone. Jahangir's seat is sponsored by MoonDAO, an organization whose mission is to accelerate a multiplanetary future.

Karsen Kitchen

Karsen Kitchen is poised to make history as the youngest woman ever to cross the Kármán line. A senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Karsen is majoring in Communications and Astronomy. After graduation, she intends to pursue a career in the space industry. In 2024, she founded Orbitelle, an initiative to encourage women to pursue careers in the space industry. Karsen has researched radio astronomy at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia and worked at UNC's Morehead Planetarium. She’s also immersed herself in centrifugal force training, experienced weightlessness during a Zero-Gravity flight, and is currently training for her scuba diving license.

Ephraim Rabin

Ephraim Rabin is an American-Israeli businessman, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Parchem Fine & Specialty Chemicals, a technology company revolutionizing supply chains for specialized raw materials and ingredients globally. Ephraim is a trustee and mentor at a variety of organizations and think tanks, as well as a race car driver, chef, and avid skier and adventurer. Ephraim and his family split their time between New York, Israel, and the Caribbean.

The flight date for NS-26 will be announced soon.