Scott Edward Parazynski (born July 28, 1961, in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American physician and a former NASA astronaut.
Parazynski holds the unique distinction of being the first person to both fly in space and summit Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.
Parazynski joined NASA as an astronaut in 1992, just two months after planning to climb Mount Everest. He went on to fly five Space Shuttle missions and perform seven spacewalks, accumulating over 23 million miles of space travel.
Parazynski’s passion for mountaineering led him to attempt to summit Mount Everest in 2008, but a severe back injury forced him to turn back before reaching the top. Undeterred, he returned in 2009 as the team physician for the Discovery Channel expedition and successfully reached the summit at 4:00 am on May 20
He has also authored a memoir titled “The Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space and Speed,” in which he shares intimate details of his life and accomplishments
Parazynski’s remarkable achievements have earned him numerous honors and awards, including induction into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2016
Parazynski’s journey is truly one of a kind. His remarkable feat of being the first person to both fly in space and summit Everest cements his place in the history books of exploration.
