Deniz Melissa Burnham (born October 1, 1985)[1] is a lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve and NASA astronaut.

[4] Her Turkish mother had aspired to be a military officer and she later joined the United States Air Force.

For more than a decade, Burnham led offshore oil drilling operations in various locations across the United States and Canada.

[4] On December 6, 2021, Burnham was revealed to be one of ten candidates selected as part NASA Astronaut Group 23.

She started her training in January 2022, completed it with fellow astronaut candidates Anil Menon and Marcos Berrios in a ceremony on March 5, 2024.