Photo courtesy of NASA
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins became the first Black woman launched into space for an extended mission on the International Space Station.
Watkins, 33, rocketed into space alongside crew members Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Samantha Cristoforetti rocketed into space after they departed from the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, at 3:52 a.m. EDT, USA Today reported.
The astronauts were boarded on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, where they will spend six months in the ISS microgravity laboratory conducting scientific research.
News Onyx previously reported that Watkins was selected among candidates in 2017 and spent the last five years preparing for the event.
Watkins shared her excitement while discussing the historic moment during a recent interview with NPR.
“I think it really is just a tribute to the legacy of the Black women astronauts that have come before me, as well as to the exciting future ahead,” Watkins said.
In January, Watkins told NBC News that her being part of the mission would break barriers by creating diversity in the field.
“We have reached this milestone, this point in time, and the reason we’re able to arrive at this time is because of the legacy of those who have come before to allow for this moment,” Watkins said during the interview. “Also, recognizing this is a step in the direction of a very exciting future. So to be a part of that is certainly an honor.”
She continued, “For me, growing up and throughout my career, it’s been really important for me to see people who look like me or have my background or similar experiences in the roles that I aspire to,” she said. “To the extent that I’m able to do that for others, for other young girls or other young people of color, I’m grateful for the opportunity to return the favor.”
The Maryland native graduated from Stanford University and earned a bachelor’s degree in geological and environmental sciences. Watkins also earned a doctorate in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
She started her career with NASA as an intern and previously held roles at the space agency’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Watkins was a science team member for the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. She also worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Watkins is the fifth Black woman to orbit into space, following Dr. Mae Johnson, the first Black woman aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1992; Stephanie Wilson; Joan Higginbotham; and Sian Proctor, the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft, Pop Sugar reported
.In 2020, NASA released a video of the astronaut after being selected to the Artemis Team while crediting her years of hard work in her career.
“A dream feels like a big, faraway goal that’s going to be difficult to achieve or something you might achieve much later in life,” she said. “But in reality, what a dream realized is is just one putting one foot in front of the other on a daily basis. If you put enough of those footprints together, eventually they become a path towards your dreams,” Watkins said.