Takuya was born in 1975 and was selected as an astronaut in 2009. Before joining JAXA, he was a pilot for All Nippon Airways, accumulating over 3,700 flight hours flying the Boeing 767. This was the second mission to space, following his previously successful mission with JAXA.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Barry Wilmore, and Donald Pettit unbox Thanksgiving meals, from the International Space Station (ISS), in this screen grab taken from a handout video, released on November 26,

The four newcomers — representing the U.S., Japan and Russia — will spend the next few days learning the station's ins and outs.

The replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts launched to the International Space Station on Friday night, paving the way for the pair’s return after nine long months. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to get this relief team to the space station before they can check out.