Jessica Andrea Watkins (born May 14, 1988) is an American

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut, geologist, aquanaut, and former international rugby player. Watkins was announced as the first Black woman to serve on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

for a long-term mission in April 2022. On June 9, 2022, at 7:38 UTC, she became the African American woman with the most time in space, surpassing Stephanie Wilson's 43 days.

Early life and education

Jessica "Watty"Astronaut slated to become first Black woman to stay long-term on space station
by Richard Tribou; published April 18, 2022; retrieved July 27, 2022 Watkins was born on May 14, 1988, in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the third-largest incorporated city and the ninth-most populous communit ...

, to Michael and Carolyn Watkins. Her family moved to Lafayette, Colorado, where she graduated from Fairview High School in 2006. She earned a bachelor's degree in geological and environmental sciences at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

where she was a member of the rugby team. After Stanford, Watkins earned a Ph.D. in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. Her graduate research, under the supervision of professor An Yin, focused on emplacement mechanisms for landslides on Mars and Earth, including the effect of water activity. Prior to her selection as an astronaut candidate, Watkins was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology, where she was also an assistant coach to the women's basketball team.

Rugby career

Watkins began playing rugby during her freshman year at Stanford and remained on the team for four years. In 2008, during her sophomore year, she was a member of the Division I national champion team. In both 2008 and 2010, Watkins became a member of First Team Collegiate Rugby All-American. She is a former American women's national team rugby player for the sevens, and played for the USA Eagles in its 3rd-place finish at the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. During the World Cup she was the leading try scorer for the US team.

NASA career

As an undergraduate, Watkins worked at the Ames Research Center to support the Mars Phoenix lander and prototype Mars drill testing. In 2009, she was chief geologist for the NASA Spaceward Bound Crew 86 at the Mars Desert Research Station. As a graduate student, she worked at the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

on the NEOWISE project to survey near-Earth asteroids. Watkins also worked on planning for the Mars rover ''

Curiosity Curiosity (from Latin , from "careful, diligent, curious", akin to "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking, such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident in humans and other animals. Curiosity helps Developmental psyc ...

''. In 2011, Watkins served as a science operations team member for an analog mission. She has served as a planner for the Mars 2020 rover and a Mars sample-return mission, and was a science team member for a Desert Research and Technology Studies analog mission. As a

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

fellow at the California Institute of Technology, and as a collaborator on the

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale (crater), Gale Crater on Augus ...

Science Team, she participated in daily planning of the Mars rover activities and uses its image data combined with orbital data to investigate the

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

, and

geomorphology Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface. Geomorphologists seek to understand wh ...

of Mars. She also contributed to the design of the prospective Uranus orbiter

OCEANUS In Greek mythology, Oceanus ( ; , also , , or ) was a Titans, Titan son of Uranus (mythology), Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys (mythology), Tethys, and the father of the River gods (Greek mythology), river gods ...

in 2016. In June 2017, Watkins was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22 and began her two-year training in August. In December 2020, she was selected to be a part of the

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

Team to return humans to the Moon. At the time, 2025 was the target date for the crewed lunar landing mission; since then, there has been schedule creep to no earlier than 2027. In November 2021, she became the 4th astronaut of Group 22, and first Black woman, to be assigned a long-duration mission to the

(ISS) after being chosen as the final member of SpaceX Crew-4, which launched in April 2022. It is Watkins’ first time in space. She is serving as a mission specialist for the six-month mission. Her role involves observing and photographing geological changes on Earth, as well as other investigations into Earth and space science, biological science, and the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans.

NEEMO 23

Watkins participated in NEEMO mission 23 from June 10 to 22, 2019. This mission tested technologies and objectives for deep space mission and lunar explorations on the seafloor. Watkins’ NEEMO mission was the first of its kind to feature an all-female research team led by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

Personal life

Watkins' parents live in Lafayette, Colorado. She has one sister. Her hobbies include soccer, rock climbing, skiing, and creative writing.

Awards and honors

Watkins has received numerous awards for her career, academic, and athletic accomplishments, including: * Jessica Watkins Day, April 19, 2022, City of Lafayette, Colorado * Stanford Earth Early- to Mid- Career Alumni Award, 2018 *

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences Chair's Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2015 * Postdoctoral Fellowship, California Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), 2015 * NASA Group Achievement Award,

Prime Mission Science and Operations Team, 2015 * Harold and Mayla Sullwold Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Outstanding Original Research,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Department of Earth and Space Sciences, 2012 * Graduate Research Fellowship in Geosciences,

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, 2012 * Diversity in the Geosciences Minority Research Grant Award, Geological Society of America, 2011 * Chancellor's Prize,

, 2010 * California Space Grant Consortium Fellowship, 2010 * Division I College Rugby National Champion, Stanford Women's Rugby, 2008 * USA Rugby Collegiate All-American, 2008-2010 * Women's Sevens Rugby World Cup Semi-finalist, USA Eagles, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Jessica 1988 births 21st-century American geologists 21st-century American women scientists American astronauts American female rugby sevens players 21st-century American sportswomen American female rugby union players American women geologists California Institute of Technology people Crew members of the International Space Station Living people People from Gaithersburg, Maryland People from Lafayette, Colorado American planetary scientists Scientists from Colorado Scientists from Maryland SpaceX astronauts Stanford University alumni United States international rugby sevens players University of California, Los Angeles alumni American women astronauts American women planetary scientists California Institute of Technology fellows Sportspeople from Colorado