Scott E. Parazynski is the first person in history to both fly in space and summit Mount Everest. Born in 1961 in Little Rock, Arkansas, he transitioned from a career as a physician and NASA astronaut to an entrepreneur focused on developing novel control devices for three-dimensional mobility in robotics, gaming, and virtual reality.
Astronaut Career and NASA Service
Selected for the NASA Astronaut Corps in March 1992, Parazynski reported to the Johnson Space Center that August. He completed his mission specialist training and served as an extra-vehicular activity representative within the Astronaut Office. Throughout his tenure at NASA, he logged extensive time in space over five Space Shuttle missions and conducted seven spacewalks. His final mission, STS-120 in October 2007, featured a complex, unplanned repair of a live solar array. He retired from the agency in March 2009 to pursue private sector opportunities.
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Parazynski earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from Stanford University in 1983 and graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1989. His medical training included an internship at Brigham and Women's Hospital. As a researcher, he studied antigenic shift in African sleeping sickness and fluid shifts during space flight at the NASA Ames Research Center. His work spans human adaptation to stressful environments, high-altitude acclimatization, and the engineering of exercise equipment for long-duration space missions.
Expeditions and Athletic Pursuits
Beyond his work with NASA, Parazynski pursued extreme environments, including a scientific dive in the Licancabur Volcano caldera lake. He reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 20, 2009, after a previous attempt in 2008 was halted by a back injury. His mountaineering record includes all 59 of Colorado's peaks exceeding 14,000 feet and the summit of Cerro Aconcagua. Additionally, he competed on the United States Development Luge Team and coached for the Philippines during the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Post-NASA Entrepreneurship
In 2014, Parazynski joined Arizona State University as a professor of practice and the institution's first University Explorer. He later founded Fluidity Technologies, a firm utilizing his intellectual property to create advanced control interfaces for three-dimensional movement. He remains involved in institutional leadership, serving on boards for the Challenger Center for Space Science Education and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, while maintaining a focus on private sector technological innovation.
Fast facts
- Born: 1961, Little Rock
- NASA Retirement: March 2009
- Mount Everest Summit Date: May 20, 2009
- Education: Stanford University
- Inducted: United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, 2016
- Flight Hours: Over 2500
- Key Award: NASA Distinguished Service Medal (2002, 2009)
- Professional Role: CEO, Fluidity Technologies
Questions readers ask
Did Scott E. Parazynski visit the Titanic?
Yes, he traveled to the site of the shipwreck in the North Atlantic aboard the OceanGate submersible Titan.
What is the focus of his company, Fluidity Technologies?
The company focuses on manufacturing control devices for mobility in 3-D space, applicable to drones, computer games, VR, and surgical robotics.
Achievements
- United States Astronaut Hall of Fame
- Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
- Affiliated with National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Educated at Stanford University, Stanford University School of Medicine and American Community Schools
- Worked as physician and astronaut
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