NASA Photographer’s Epic Astronaut Portrait is Nod to the Past
A NASA photographer has captured a heroic portrait of astronaut Zena Cardman — who is due to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year — in a callback to an iconic portrait of fellow astronaut Anna Fisher.
Fisher blazed a trail in space exploration and made headlines in the 1980s for being one of NASA’s first female astronauts and holds the distinction of being the first mother in space. In 1983, photographer John Bryson shot a series of publicity photos that have stood the test of time; regularly posted to Reddit and referenced by artists and musicians in tribute.
42 years on, Josh Valcarcel, a scientific photographer at the NASA Johnson Space Center, has captured an image of Cardman that is reminiscent of the famous Fisher portrait.
“NASA astronaut Zena Cardman will lead NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 as Commander, set to launch later this year,” Valcarcel writes on Instagram. “With a geobiology background from the University of North Carolina, Cardman studied microbial life in extreme environments, including hydrocarbon seeps, hydrothermal vents, and the Arctic.”
The photographer adds he had “a blast” capturing Cardman in her extravehicular activity (EVA) suit, adding that the portraits “basically take themselves.”
The pictures are unusual because, as Space.com notes, most NASA portraits follow a similar format with the crew wearing spacesuits in a studio that has a scale model of the spacecraft for props as well as the American flag.
But these special portraits, taken on March 22, were only taken as a result of Cardman being pulled from the SpaceX Crew-9 mission so that stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams could return to Earth after they were unable to return home on Boeing Starliner.
“This is the new modern Ana Lee Fisher portrait,” writes Kilo Mora beneath Valcarcel’s post.
As well as the Fisher-esque portrait, Valcarcel also captured a creative shot showing Cardman’s reflection in the mirror that is located on the spacesuit’s left wrist — which allows astronauts to see the front of a display panel.
NASA doesn’t have an exact date yet for Cardman to blast into space but it will be “no earlier than July 2025,” according to the space agency.
More of Valcarcel’s work can be found on his Instagram.
Image credits: NASA/Josh Valcarcel.
