Darya Moghbeli is an American astronaut and a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps. Born in Germany to Iranian parents, she earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School, also graduating as a test pilot from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. During her military career as an AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter pilot, she accumulated over 2,000 flight hours and completed more than 150 combat missions, receiving numerous decorations, including four Air Medals. Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2017, she undertook her first spaceflight as the commander of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission, which launched in August 2023. Aboard the International Space Station, she served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 69 and 70, conducting scientific experiments and extravehicular activities before returning to Earth in March 2024, after 199 days in space.