KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), August 5, 2025 – The latest episode of Between a Rocket and a Hard Space, the official podcast of the ISS National Laboratory®, features a conversation with NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, who over the weekend arrived to their new home over the next few months – the International Space Station (ISS).
Prior to their mission, the ISS National Lab caught up with both astronauts for this special episode. Cardman and Fincke discuss the value of pushing the limits of science and innovation beyond Earth’s horizons. The two share their excitement about the projects they’ll support during their mission—ranging from biomedical research that may lead to accelerated drug development to projects testing advanced materials in the extreme space environment.
Fincke also reflects on his deep connection to the orbiting laboratory, having helped assemble the ISS during missions in 2004, 2008, and 2011. Now, 14 years later, he returns to the space station he helped build—this time to support groundbreaking research and innovation. This mission marks Cardman’s first journey to space. During the podcast, she discusses how her diverse background and training will shape her contributions to the mission and what she’s most looking forward to as she prepares to live and work in microgravity.
Cardman and Fincke, along with Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, launched August 1, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and arrived at the space station the following day.
Click here to listen to the full episode and hear from two astronauts preparing to launch into a mission filled with purpose, discovery, and inspiration.
About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory:
The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory® allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space® (CASIS®) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative Agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CASIS accepts corporate and individual donations to help advance science in space for the benefit of humanity. For more information, visit our donations page.
