Space / International Space StationFirst
First Jewish Person to Live Aboard the International Space Station
Record holder
Record value
12 March 2008
Country represented: United StatesAchievement location: United StatesAchievement date: 12 March 2008Current record
Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records
Garrett E. Reisman — record holder for “First Jewish Person to Live Aboard the International Space Station”.NASA / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic domain
Official record definition
The earliest natural person satisfying JWR Jewish Eligibility at Achievement who resided aboard the International Space Station as an expedition crew member; brief visiting shuttle crews do not qualify.
Measurement methodology
ISS expedition-residency chronology using NASA crew assignments and contemporaneous Jewish reporting that explicitly identifies the first Jewish resident.
Measurement point: verified record metric at the qualifying achievement date
Record story
Garrett Reisman reached the International Space Station aboard STS-123 in March 2008 and remained there as an Expedition 16/17 flight engineer rather than as a short-term Shuttle visitor. That distinction matters to the record: JWR defines “live aboard” as expedition residence, not a brief docked visit. Contemporary Jewish reporting explicitly called Reisman the first Jewish astronaut to live on the station and followed his Jewish life in orbit, including Passover and symbolic items he carried. NASA’s crew records confirm his residency and later return on STS-124. Reisman’s stay marked a transition in Jewish space history from visiting missions to long-duration participation in humanity’s permanent orbital laboratory.
Media
Gallery
Garrett E. Reisman, record holder.NASA / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic domain
How JWR verified this record
- Verification status
- Verified
- Verification date
- 28 September 2026
- Verification standard
- JWR Verification Standard 1.0
Achievement evidence
NASA records Reisman launching on STS-123 on 11 March 2008, docking with the ISS on 12 March and joining Expedition 16 as a resident flight engineer.
Superiority evidence
Contemporaneous JTA reporting explicitly described Reisman as the first Jewish astronaut to live on the ISS, closing the chronology before later Jewish residents.
Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR
Jewish eligibility verification
Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.
- Exodus in outer space — Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Achievement / record verification
Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.
- STS-123 — NASA
- Expedition 16 — NASA
- STS-124 — NASA
Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.
Have documented contrary evidence or a stronger counter-candidate? Submit a challenge for review.
Sources & Verification
Independent publicationJewish Telegraphic Agency
What this proves: Explicitly describes Reisman as the first Jewish astronaut to live on the ISS and documents Jewish heritage.
Official recordNASA
What this proves: Lists Reisman as an Expedition 16 flight engineer/resident crew member.
Institutional archiveNASA / Wikimedia Commons
What this proves: High-resolution NASA public-domain holder media.
History
Verified
Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.
Publishedv1
Published to the official JWR registry.