‘Survivor’ Contestant Going to Space on Blue Origin Mission

Getty/CBS Jeff Bezos/Cast of "Survivor: Samoa" (2009).

A big piece of news came out of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s company Blue Origin today: “Survivor: Samoa” contestant Jaison Robinson will be a part of the crew flying on the company’s NS-21 mission. The historic mission will also include the first Mexican-born woman, also the youngest American woman, to go to space.

Here’s what you need to know:

Robinson Will Be Part of Blue Origin’s Fifth Manned Mission to Space

On Monday, it was announced by Blue Origin in a press release that Jaison Robinson, 41, widely known for his fifth-place finish on “Survivor: Samoa,” will join five other customers as part of the company’s 21st mission to space. Also in the crew is NASA engineer Katya Echazarreta, who will be the first Mexican-born woman and the youngest American woman to journey to space. She will be sponsored by Space for Humanity, a nonprofit who describes their mission as “expanding access to space for all of humanity.”

Blue Origin’s mission titles are representative of the company’s signature rocket – New Shepard, the first of which was completed in 2015 – and the number of the mission (most missions have been unmanned, however). Hence, NS-21 will be Blue Origin’s 21st mission to space (though its fifth manned mission).

The 20th mission – NS-20 – was originally scheduled to depart on March 21, 2022, but was then postponed to March 29, and once again to March 31, when it finally departed. The duration of the mission lasted about 10 minutes, a normal time for an NS mission.

The date of departure for NS-21 will be announced in the near future.

What Robinson Has Been up to Since ‘Survivor’

The final 5 contestants of “Survivor: Samoa,” (L-R) Jaison Robinson, Natalie White, Brett Clouser, Russell Hantz, and Mick Trimming, at the reunion show in 2009.

Robinson may be best-known for his 2009 appearance on “Survivor’s” 19th season, “Samoa,” where he placed fifth. Robinson, who was 28 at the time, was part of the famous “Foa Foa Four,” which included notorious “Survivor” villain Russell Hantz in his first appearance on the show, as well as eventual winner Natalie White, and second-runner up Mick Trimming.

Although the four Foa Foa members went into the merge at a daunting 8-4 disadvantage, they were able to overcome the handicap and make up four of the final 5. Robinson ended up being the first Foa Foa eliminated post-merge, after Brett Clouser, the lone remaining member of the former Galu tribe, won immunity at the final 5. Robinson was blindsided after Hantz and White agreed that Trimming had a better chance of beating Clouser in the final 4 immunity challenge than Robinson. As a member of the jury, he ended up casting his vote for White.

In the summer of 2020, Robinson and his wife, Jamie, co-founded Dream Variation Ventures, a company which invests in a broad range of industries, including technology and sports start-ups. Their website states that they place “special emphasis on investing in companies with diverse leadership teams that have transformational vision, courage, and endurance.”

Robinson also became one of the trustees of the NPR Foundation Board in October 2021, when he and three others were elected to a three-year term by the Board.

Dream Variation Ventures’ website also describes Robinson as passionate about “anything space related,” as well as “extreme adventures.” Additionally, his dream is to “one day see a sunrise and a sunset every 90 minutes from orbit.” Jamie Robinson, his wife, is a management consultant who has previously advised philanthropic organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Their website also states that Robinson has “broken the sound barrier in a Mig-29 fighter jet, spent a week hiking in Antarctica, and climbed to the tallest waterfall in the world in Venezuela.” Additionally, he is an avid scuba diver, skydiver, and participant in zero gravity flights. Naturally, the Blue Origin mission will be very well-suited for him.

“Survivor 42” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. The three-hour finale airs Wednesday, May 25, 2022.