✍🏾: @tiff.chey
This past Wednesday, #JessicaWatkins (33) made history by becoming the first Black woman launched into space for an extended mission on the International Space Station!
Watkins, along with #BobHines, #KjellLindgren, and #SamanthaCristoforetti, rocketed into space from the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, at 3:52 a.m. EDT.
During an NPR interview, Watkins said, “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.”
This assignment made Watkins the first Black woman to join an ISS crew for scientific research, station maintenance, and training for six months. Out of 248 astronauts who have visited the space station, only seven have been Black, and none were included in expeditions lasting several months.
As of last year, Watkins has been chosen to participate in the Artemis program that aims to put astronauts back on the moon no later than 2025, according to NASA.
Watkins told NPR, “For me, growing up, it was important to me to have role models in roles that I aspire to be in, contributing in ways I aspired to contribute, … So to the extent that I’m able to do that, I’m honored and grateful for the opportunity to return the favor.”
Watkins is making moves out of this world as she works to be a role model for young Black girls to inspire and motivate them as her role models did for her. She is showing everybody that all things are possible both on Earth and, at this point, the moon too! There is nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it, and that’s on period! #BWLMđź’•
