NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins visited NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley on Tuesday, February 28, where she had the opportunity to engage with a local elementary school and speak with Ames employees.
“This really is like coming home for me,” said Watkins while addressing the Ames workforce. “This center has its fingerprints all over my story.”
Watkins is a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22 and the first African American woman to serve to a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. She recently logged a total of 170 days in space over two expeditions as a mission specialist on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission.
She started her career with NASA at Ames, where she conducted research on Mars soil simulant supporting the Phoenix Mars Lander mission through an undergraduate internship while studying at Stanford University. Her return to the center provided the opportunity to talk to the Ames workforce and share her experiences training as an astronaut candidate and living in space.
In the afternoon, she also visited Mariano Castro Elementary School in Mountain View, California, where she had the opportunity to tour the school, share her experiences, and answer questions from students.
“It was an honor to welcome Jessica back to Ames,” said Center Director Eugene Tu. “The breadth of her experiences and accomplishments is an inspiration to all of us at the center and in the local community.”
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Image caption: Astronaut Jessica Watkins visited Mariano Castro Elementary School in Mountain View, California on February 28, where she had the opportunity to tour the school, share her experiences, and answer questions from students. Credits: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart
Author: Frank Tavares, NASA’s Ames Research Center