NASA Astronaut Jessica Watkins to become first woman of colour to travel to space station

Astronaut Jessica Watkins has been selected as a mission specialist for NASA's Crew-4, the fourth rotation mission to the International Space Station (ISS) next year. Interestingly, Watkins' selection has made her the first black woman candidate who will visit the space station for a long-term mission. The 33-year-old woman will experience her first space ride ever with three other astronauts — Kjell Lindgren and Robert Hines from NASA and a European Space Agency (ES) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. 

Who is Jessica Watkins?

Born in Gaithersburg of US' Maryland, Watkins has had a pretty good run with NASA. She began her career at NASA as an intern and has worked at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. "At the time of her astronaut selection, Watkins was a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology, where she collaborated as a member of the Science Team for the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity," said the administration in a statement. 

Watkins also has a vast educational background. She owns a Bachelor’s degree in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University and a Doctorate in Geology from the Los Angeles-based University of California. Besides, she also has conducted graduate research on the emplacement mechanisms of large landslides on Mars and Earth.

First black woman to visit the ISS

With this announcement, NASA has diverted from its announcement made in February this year where it selected astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, whereas Cristoforetti was the choice for mission specialist for Crew-4. This change in plan has offered Watkins to become the first black woman to visit the space station. Until now, only seven out of 249 people who have visited the orbiting observatory have been black, all of them being men. 

According to The New York Times, Watkins stated that her visit to the ISS would set an example for children and especially young girls of colour and would motivate them to participate and succeed. She was quoted as saying, "For me, that’s been really important, and so if I can contribute to that in some way, that’s definitely worth it." Scheduled for launch in April 2022, the members of Crew-4 will board SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket for a launch from the Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

(Image: NASA)