Rugby Astronaut Jessica Watkins to Speak from Space on Friday
Rugby Astronaut Jessica Watkins to Speak from Space on Friday
Former Stanford and USA 7s star Jessica Watkins will be part of an Earth-to-Space in a broadcast conversation on Friday.
Watkins, who said when she was in college that she wanted to become an astronaut, is serving on the International Space Station along with Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Samantha Cristiforetti.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Italian Space Agency (ASI) President Giorgio Saccoccia, and leadership from the U.S. Embassy in Rome will speak with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station about the benefits of the space station to life on Earth, research they’re conducting aboard the orbiting laboratory, and plans NASA and ESA have for human exploration on the Moon and Mars.
The Earth-to-space call will air live at 7:40AM EDT Friday, June 17, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Watkins was an All American at Stanford and played for the USA 7s team in the 2009 Rugby World Cup 7s, where the Eagles finished 3rd. That tournament was crucial in making Rugby 7s an Olympic sport.
After retiring from rugby Watkins, armed with her BS in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford, went on to earn her Doctorate in Geology from UCLA. She conducted her graduate research on the emplacement mechanisms of large landslides on Mars and Earth, so she is especially qualified to discuss the top in the interview above.
She is also, by the way, the first African American woman in space.
You can follow her on Instagram at @astro_watkins
