29-Year-Old Cancer Survivor To Join World’s First All-Civilian Space Mission

• Hayley Arceneaux, 29, survived and beat cancer at the age of 10.
• Now she has been picked as one of the 4 crew members for the first ever all-civilian space mission.
• SpaceX said Hayley will be “the youngest American in space” and the “first person with a prosthetic body part to go to space.”

Hayley Arceneaux will soon be travelling to space. In fact, she has been invited to join the first ever all-civilian space mission. Tentatively scheduled by the end of the year, Hayley will be taking a 4-crew SpaceX flight with 37-year-old billionaire tech-entrepreneur Jared Isaacman with two others.

A cancer survivor, Hayley is currently working as a physician’s assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee. The 29-year-old woman has been chosen for the mission to serve as an inspiration to others.

A survivor! Hayley Arceneaux beat cancer at an early age.

As a kid, Hayley has always dreamed of being an astronaut someday. However, doctors diagnosed her with osteosarcoma when she was 10 and having bone cancer made it necessary for her to go through chemotherapy and surgery. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“It made me feel weak from my blood counts being low. Then I got some fevers that required more admission to the hospital. And, of course, I lost my hair,” she said about the chemo.

Fortunately, she survived and beat cancer. Fast forward to the present, her inspiring story led her to this unique (and quite literally) out-of-this-world opportunity.

As Isaacman said in an interview:

“She’s interested in the world around her, devoted to caring for others and hopeful for a better future for all of us. She already inspires me, and I’m certain she’ll inspire many others as they get to know her in the course of our mission.”

Hayley has been designated as Chief Medical Officer for the space mission.

“I don’t know my exact schedule as far as training, like how much I’m going to have to be away this year, but St. Jude and my co-workers have been so supportive and it’s been worked out,” she said. “But I’m still working my job, and also getting to have this experience.”

According to a SpaceX tweet, Hayley is set to be “the youngest American in space” and
the “first person with a prosthetic body part to go to space.”

Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described the mission as “an important milestone towards enabling access to space for everyone.”