HOSHIDE Akihiko

Born in Tokyo, Japan.

Received bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Keio University.

Completed Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering at the Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston.

Joined the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA, currently Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and worked as a member of NASDA's Nagoya office on the development of the H-II rocket.

Worked as an astronaut support engineer for the NASDA Astronaut Office, supporting the development of astronaut training programs and the evaluation of crew interface designs. Supported the STS-72 mission and astronaut Koichi Wakata while working in technical support for other astronauts.

Selected by NASDA as one of three Japanese astronaut candidates to work on the International Space Station (ISS), together with Dr. Satoshi Furukawa and Naoko Yamazaki.

Commenced NASDA's Basic Training program.

Certified as an astronaut.

Participated in ISS Advanced Training while working on development of the hardware and operation of Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module of the ISS and the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV).

Certified as a Soyuz-TMA flight engineer. In June, dispatched to NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), going through NASA's Astronaut Candidate training for roughly 20 months and commencing training as a Mission Specialist candidate with NASA.

Qualified as a Mission Specialist with NASA.

Selected as a crew member for the STS-124 (1J) mission, the second of three missions to deliver Kibo to the ISS.

Flew on the STS-124 (1J) aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Controlled the ISS’s Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), installing Kibo. In March, 2009, performed the relocation of the Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (ELM-PS). Oversaw Kibo-related operations, such as activation of the Pressurized Module (PM) and the first activation of its robotic arm.

Assigned as a flight engineer for ISS Expeditions 32 and 33.

Spent 124 days aboard the ISS as a flight engineer on Expeditions 32 and 33. Performed experiments with Kibo and ISS maintenance operations, performed three Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), and performed in-orbit operations relating to the KOUNOTORI3 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-3) and SpaceX Dragon (SpX-1) missions, as well as the deployment of CubeSats using the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD).
Flew on the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft (31S) for both launch and return to Earth.

Served as Commander of the 18th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO18, an undersea expedition at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aquarius habitat in Florida, USA.

Served as Chief of the JAXA Astronaut Group.

Assigned as a flight engineer for ISS Expeditions 64 and 65 (at the time).
Assigned as Commander of ISS Expedition 65 (at the time).

In 2021, he launched on the Crew-2 Crew Dragon spacecraft and stayed on the ISS as an Expedition 65/66 crew member, logging 198 days, 9 hours and 57 minutes in space. He served as the ISS commander for five months, performed various science experiments, maintenance tasks, and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the ISS, including the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo". His total EVA time is 28 hours and 17 minutes.