NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins to set new record for Black women in space: report

By Chelsea Gohd  via https://www.space.com/

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins is preparing to make history as the first Black woman to embark on an extended mission in space.

This April, Watkins will launch to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will lift off as part of the company’s Crew-4 mission. Watkins, who is a part of NASA’s Artemis program — an effort to return humans to the moon — will serve as a mission specialist, spending about six months living and working on the orbiting lab. This will be Watkins’ first flight to space.

With this trip, Watkins will be the first Black woman to live in space for an extended mission. 

“I think it’s important to recognize this as a milestone for our agency and for our country, as well, to know that we are building on the foundation that was laid by the Black woman astronauts who’ve come before me,” Watkins told NPR’s Morning Edition. “I’m definitely honored to be a small part of that legacy, but…

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