Claude Nicollier studied Physics at the University of Lausanne and received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970. He then worked as a graduate scientist from 1970 to 1973 at the Institute of Astronomy at the University and at the Geneva Observatory before obtaining a Master of Science degree in Astrophysics from the University of Geneva in 1975. Nicollier has spent over 1000 hours in space, including one space walk lasting 8 hours and 10 minutes.
He served as mission specialist on four missions with four different space shuttles: Atlantis, Columbia, Discovery and Endeavour. He has received many honours and medals, including the IAF Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal. Nicollier installed the famous Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope. This camera was used to image the Hubble Deep Field in 1995, the Hourglass Nebula and the Egg Nebula in 1996, the Hubble Deep Field South in 1998 and many other important objects.