1. Jonathan Yong "Jonny" Kim was born on 5 February 1984 and is an American NASA astronaut, physician, SEAL, flight surgeon, and naval aviator.
17 Facts About Jonny Kim
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Jonny Kim joined SEAL Team 3 and participated in over 100 combat missions in the Middle East as a combat medic, sniper, navigator, and point man.
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Jonny Kim has earned a Silver Star and Bronze Star, and achieved the rank of lieutenant commander.
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In 2017, Jonny Kim was selected to join NASA Astronaut Group 22.
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Jonathan Yong Jonny Kim was born on 5 February 1984 in Los Angeles, California.
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Jonny Kim's parents emigrated from South Korea to the United States in the early 1980s, and his father had scarcely completed a high-school education.
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At Santa Monica High School, Jonny Kim received high grades in his classes, including several Advanced Placements, while participating in swimming and water polo; he graduated in 2002.
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In 2017, Jonny Kim completed his medical internship in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
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Jonny Kim learned about and decided to become a Navy SEAL at age 16, investing his remaining high-school years physically conditioning himself for the rigors of Special Warfare training.
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Jonny Kim deployed twice to the Middle East and participated in over 100 combat missions as a combat medic, sniper, navigator, and point man.
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In 2009, Jonny Kim was accepted to the STA-21 commissioning program; when he graduated from the University of San Diego in 2012 and left the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, Jonny Kim entered the Medical Corps.
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Jonny Kim is a recipient of a Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and Combat Action Ribbon.
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On 7 June 2017, Jonny Kim was one of twelve candidates chosen from a pool of over 18,300 applicants to join NASA Astronaut Group 22.
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Jonny Kim reported for duty on 21 August 2017, and graduated from training on 10 January 2020.
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In 2020, Kim began working as a capsule communicator at the Christopher C Kraft Jr.
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On 9 December 2020, NASA formally announced that Jonny Kim would join 17 other astronauts in training for early Moon landing missions of the Artemis program.
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Jonny Kim flew to space aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft on 8 April 2025.