Soichi Noguchi

Soichi Noguchi (b. 1965) is an astronaut for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. His maiden space voyage was with NASA aboard the space shuttle Discovery in July 2005; the first mission after the Columbia disaster in February 2003.

As a member of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew on Expedition 23 to the International Space Station, Noguchi filmed a Sesame Street segment for a 2010 episode. Aboard the ISS, he presents the letter F as standing for "float" and proceeds to demonstrate a lemon, his socks and a fabric globe floating in zero gravity.