Indian-American US Air Force Colonel Raja Chari has been selected as the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by NASA and the European Space Agency, reported PTI.

On the mission, which is expected to launch next year, Chari, 43, will serve as the commander while NASA’s Tom Marshburn will be pilot. ESA’s Matthias Maurer will serve as the mission specialist.

A fourth crew member will be added at a later date, following a review by NASA and its international partners, NASA said in a statement on Monday, reported PTI.

“Excited and honored to be training with @astro_matthias and @AstroMarshburn in prep for a trip to the @Space_Station,” Chari said in a tweet on Monday.

Chari, for whom this will be the first spaceflight, became a NASA astronaut in 2017. A colonel in the US Air Force, he has extensive experience as a test pilot, with more than more than 2,500 hours of flight time in his career.

Chari was selected earlier this month as a member of the Artemis Team and is now eligible for assignment to a future lunar mission, NASA said in a statement, reported PTI.

He was born in Milwaukee, but considers Cedar Falls, Iowa, his hometown, the statement also said. 

Chari’s father Srinivas Chari came to the US at a young age from Hyderabad for an engineering degree, as per PTI reports.

Maurer, who belongs to Sankt Wendel in Germay, will also be making his first trip to space with the Crew-3 mission. 

“It’s official… next stop: International @Space_Station! In late 2021, I’ll fly to humankind’s orbital outpost for the first time, continuing our quest to discover more in space for #Earth. Get ready for #cosmickiss – a declaration of love for space,” Maurer tweeted.

Marshburn, from Statesville, North Carolina, became an astronaut in 2004. Prior to serving in the astronaut corps, he served as a flight surgeon at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and later became medical operations lead for the International Space Station. 

After arriving at the orbiting laboratory Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer will become expedition crew members, training for six months.

This will be the third crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s ‘human space transportation system’ and its fourth flight with astronauts to the space station.