NASA Astronaut Returns to OMSI, Where an Early Curiosity Launched His Journey
Media Contacts:
Amanda Rain, Communications Manager
arain@omsi.edu | P: 503-797-4510
Jim Todd, Director of Space Science Education
jtodd@omsi.edu | P: 503-710-2053
[PORTLAND, OR – September 15, 2026] – The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is thrilled to host NASA Astronaut Dr. Michael Barratt for a short presentation and meet and greet on October 3 + 4 from 2-3 pm each day.
The public is invited to hear first-hand accounts from Dr. Barratt about his lifetime commitment to space exploration. A physician, scientist, and astronaut, Dr. Barratt has spent much of his career studying how the human body adapts to the harshest, most extreme environments known to humanity. His work has helped advance our understanding of human health in space and prepare astronauts for longer and more ambitious missions beyond Earth.
Dr. Barratt joined NASA in 1991 as a flight surgeon and played an important role in developing medical operations for the emerging International Space Station program. His work took him to Russia, where he collaborated with colleagues at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and Institute of Biomedical Problems, helping build systems and relationships that would support decades of international cooperation in human spaceflight. He later served as lead crew surgeon for the first expedition to the International Space Station before NASA selected him for the astronaut corps in 2000.
Since then, Dr. Barratt has traveled to space three times. During Expeditions 19 and 20 in 2009, he helped oversee the historic transition of the International Space Station from a permanent crew of three to six people and conducted two spacewalks. In 2011, he flew aboard the final mission of Space Shuttle Discovery. Most recently, Dr. Barratt served as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission, launching to the International Space Station in March 2024 and spending nearly eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory conducting science and supporting station operations.
“This is a great homecoming for Dr. Barratt. He’s spent nearly 212 days in space and has some incredible stories to share, said Jim Todd, OMSI’s Director of Space Science Education. “I’m really looking forward to having him back at OMSI and excited for our guests to meet him.”
Born in Vancouver and raised in Camas, Washington, he frequently visited OMSI as a child, where his mother volunteered and he attended classes. Dr. Barratt built his first telescope at OMSI with guidance from the Planetarium director.
Despite traveling millions of miles in orbit, Dr. Barratt never forgot his roots. While aboard the International Space Station, he proudly wore an “I am OMSI” T-shirt and displayed an OMSI poster, both of which now reside in Todd’s office.
Dr. Barratt’s return to OMSI offers the next generation of explorers a chance to meet someone who once stood where they stand, ready to explore and discover. His journey from building a telescope at OMSI to conducting research hundreds of miles above Earth is a reminder that curiosity can begin anywhere, and there is no telling where it might lead.
“From OMSI to Orbit: Meet NASA Astronaut Dr. Michael Barratt” takes place October 3 + 4 from 2–3 pm in OMSI’s Auditorium. Doors open at 1:45 pm. Free to attend with advance RSVP required. Learn more here.
Interviews with Dr. Michael Barratt may be requested by emailing Amanda Rain at arain@omsi.edu.
Images available here.
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About OMSI
Founded in 1944, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is one of the nation’s leading science museums and a trusted educational resource for communities throughout Oregon and the region. Through museum exhibitions, public programs, outdoor programs, traveling exhibitions, digital learning, and learning research and design, OMSI nourishes a lifelong love of science, curiosity and learning among its diverse audiences. The upcoming OMSI District – a collaboration of local, Tribal and regional government entities, nonprofits and businesses – will be a one-of-a-kind neighborhood with innovation, culture and science learning at its heart. OMSI is located at 1945 S.E. Water Avenue, Portland, OR, 97214. For general information, call 503.797.4000 or visit omsi.edu. Connect with the museum on Facebook and Instagram.
About Dr. Michael Barratt
Dr. Michael R. Barratt was selected by NASA in 2000. Board certified in Internal and Aerospace Medicine, he has participated in two spaceflights. In 2009, Dr. Barratt served as Flight Engineer for Expedition 19/20. This marked the transition from three to six permanent International Space Station crew members. During this time, he performed two spacewalks. He also flew on STS-133, which delivered the Permanent Multipurpose Module and fourth Express Logistics Carrier. Dr. Barratt served in the Mission Support branches providing medical and human factors expertise to multiple spaceflight programs. He has spent a total of 212 days in space across two spaceflights. Dr. Barratt launched to the International Space Station March 3, 2024, as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. He served as a flight engineer aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission successfully splashed down at 3:29 am EDT Friday, off Pensacola, Florida, concluding a nearly eight-month science mission and the agency’s eighth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station.
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