Aleksander Misurkin

Cosmonaut Aleksander Misurkin was a major in the Russian air force before he was selected in 2006 to become a cosmonaut. Among his duties and accomplishments, he is a first-class instructor-pilot and has logged 1 600 hours of flight time in jet trainer-aircraft for the Russian air force.

Aleksander has undergone extreme survival training courses, both in the desert and at sea. In his spare time, the 35-year-old cosmonaut enjoys alpine skiing and karting.