Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 4-22-22

Feature
Woman Astronaut With Links To Tampa To Live In Space For 6 Months
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Two things of significance will take place for Dr. Jessica Watkins. She is a member of the International Space Station (ISS) chosen as the final member of SpaceX Crew 4, slated to launch in April 2022. The first Black woman, to be assigned to this mission, Dr. Watkins will also celebrate her 34th birthday on May 14, in space. She was chosen for this role in November 2021.
In June 2017, Dr. Jessica Watkins was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22, and began her two-year training in Au- gust. In December 2020, she was se- lected to be a part of the Artemis Team to return humans to the Moon. The year 2024 is the target date for the moon launch.
She will serve as a mission spe- cialist for the six-month mission. Her role will involve observ- ing and photographing geological changes on Earth, as well as other in- vestigations into earth and space sci- ence, biological science, and the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans.
Although Ms. Watkins has not lived in Tampa herself, she has fam- ily ties here. Her grandparents are native Tampa residents William and Betty Watkins. Both her grandparents attended College Hill Elementary, Booker T. Washington Jr. High School, and graduated from Middleton High School.
ASTRONAUT JESSICA WATKINS
William became an active mem- ber of the military and they became the parents of Valarie, Sonya, Michael, and Reginald. The fam- ily traveled extensively in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy be- fore William retired. He then be- came an Aeronautical Engineer for Lockheed-Martin.
Upon reaching adulthood, Michael Watkins married and he and his wife, Carolyn, became the parents of Jasmine and Jessica. The family relocated to Lafayette, Colorado, where Dr. Watkins grad- uated from Fairview High School.
She earned a bachelor's degree in Geological and Environmental Sci- ences at Stanford University. While attending Stanford, she also devel- oped an interest in and joined the
Members of ESA Crew 4 are: Kjell Lindgren, Samantha Cristoforetti, Jessica Watkins, and Bob Hines.
rugby team. After Stanford, Dr. Watkins earned a Ph.D. in Geology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2015. Her graduate re- search, under the supervision of Professor An Yin, focused on em- placement mechanisms for land- slides on Mars and Earth, including the effect of water activity.
Prior to her selection as an astro- naut candidate, Dr. Watkins was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology, where she was also an assistant coach to the women's basketball team.
Dr. Watkins participated in NEEMO mission 23 from June 10 to
June 22, 2019. This mission tested technologies and objectives for deep space mission and lunar explorations on the seafloor. Dr. Watkins’ NEEMO mission was the first of its kind to feature an all-female re- search team led by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.
Dr. Watkins' parents live in Lafayette, Colorado. Her father is an attorney, author, and owner of a con- sulting firm. Her grandfather is de- ceased and her grandmother, Mrs. Betty Watkins, resides in Orlando.
Her hobbies include soccer, rock climbing, skiing, and creative writ- ing.
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