Space MacGyver: NASA astronaut and inventor Don Pettit eager to return to ISS on Sept. 11

astronaut don pettit wearing a spacesuit and an open helmet
NASA astronaut Don Pettit. (Image credit: NASA)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is about to embark on his fourth space mission — one sure to be filled with chances to tinker with things in orbit.

Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, will ride on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday (Sept. 11) at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT; 9:23 p.m. local Baikonur time).

The 69-year-old Pettit will spend six months in space on the coming mission, adding to his 370-day orbital tally. He told Space.com he misses the final frontier when he's not up there: "Some people are born to be cowboys and ride a horse. I'm born to ride a rocket and be in space. So I really looking forward to going back."

Pettit likes to MacGyver things in space. Perhaps his best-known invention is the Capillary Beverage, or Space Cup, which "uses surface tension, wetting, and container shape to mimic the role of gravity in drinking on Earth," according to NASA. Instead of sipping from a straw as astronauts typically need to do, the device allows crews to drink from a slightly modified vessel.

Related: Weightlessness and its effect on astronauts

NASA astronaut Don Pettit demonstrates how surface tension, wetting, and container shape hold coffee in the Capillary Beverage, or Space Cup. (Image credit: NASA)

The astronaut also knows how to repurpose everyday materials, such as knitting needles. Pettit used paper to rub the needles and create an electrical charge. Then he used a Teflon syringe — a type of liquid transfer device — to emit charged water near the needle.

As predicted by science, the water droplets circled the knitting needle, showing off electrostatic orbits, or movements that are governed by electrical attraction.

"These observations could be analogous to the behavior of charged particles in Earth's magnetic field and prove useful in designing future spacecraft systems," NASA officials wrote.

Charged water particles orbit a knitting needle, showing electrostatic processes in space. (Image credit: NASA)

Pettit also enjoys playing with camera exposures and angles to create unique views of Earth, particularly focusing on light trails across the planet's surface at night. He plans on doing more of this spare-time shutterbug activity using the upgraded equipment available on ISS, he said.

Top: NASA astronaut Don Pettit photographed in the International Space Station cupola, or wraparound window, with several cameras. Bottom: Star trails and light trails on Earth photographed by Pettit. (Image credit: NASA)

"We've got a number of new lenses on orbit that are optimized for nighttime imagery. I'm really looking forward to getting back on station and taking nighttime imagery to a new level, Pettit said.

Pettit added that he has been keeping his skills sharp since his last space mission in 2013. 

"The way you do that is, you're always taking photographs," he said. "NASA has ... training camera equipment that we could check out and use, and we've got pretty sophisticated, professional-level cameras. You can't have a training — you know, one or two hours of training — and then, two years later, pick that camera up and be an expert at using it. You need to use it, at least for me, on a weekly basis."

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace