Anne McClain facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne McClain
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McClain in 2024
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Anne Charlotte McClain
June 7, 1979 Spokane, Washington, U.S.
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| Awards | Defense Superior Service Medal |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel, US Army |
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Time in space
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333 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes (currently in space) |
| Selection | NASA Group 21 (2013) |
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Total EVAs
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3 |
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Total EVA time
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18 hours, 52 minutes |
| Missions |
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Mission insignia
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Anne Charlotte McClain (born June 7, 1979) is a colonel in the United States Army, an engineer, and a NASA astronaut. Her special nickname, "Annimal", comes from her time playing rugby. She even uses this name on her Twitter page, AstroAnnimal. She has flown to the International Space Station as a flight engineer for two long missions: Expedition 58/59 and Expedition 72/73.
Contents
Becoming an Astronaut: Anne McClain's Education
Anne McClain was born and grew up in Spokane, Washington. From a very young age, she dreamed of becoming an astronaut. After finishing Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane in 1997, she briefly attended Spokane Community College. There, she played softball and joined a military training program called R.O.T.C. at Gonzaga University.
College and Advanced Degrees
McClain was waiting for a spot at the United States Military Academy, also known as West Point. She was accepted and earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2002. After graduating, she became an officer in the U.S. Army.
She continued her studies in England with a special scholarship called the Marshall Scholarship. She earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Bath in 2004. The next year, in 2005, she earned another master's degree in international relations from the University of Bristol. Her research on how air moves around certain types of wings was later published.
McClain also spent eight weeks in Africa. She worked on a building project in Uganda as part of a program called Operation Crossroads Africa.
Competitive Sports: Rugby and Space Training
Anne McClain is a very skilled rugby player. She played in the top league in England, called the Women's Premiership. She also played for the United States women's national rugby union team, known as the Women's Eagles.
Her duties with the U.S. Army sometimes kept her from playing international rugby. For example, she could not join the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup. However, she played at a high level for ten years, only stopping when she was sent to Iraq for military service. She believes that playing rugby helped her become a successful astronaut.
McClain shared in an interview that her rugby training was very useful. It helped her when she practiced wearing a space suit in a special pool called a neutral buoyancy pool. This pool helps astronauts feel like they are floating in space.
Military Career: Flying Helicopters and Serving Her Country
After finishing her studies, Anne McClain became a qualified pilot. She learned to fly the Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter. She was sent to Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Cavalry Regiment.
McClain moved up in the Army ranks. She started as a leader for air traffic control and aircraft maintenance. Later, she became a Detachment Commander.
Combat Missions in Iraq
McClain was sent to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During her 15-month deployment, she flew 800 hours and completed 216 combat missions.
In 2009, she attended a special course for Army captains. After that, she was assigned to Fort Rucker. There, she worked as an operations officer and an instructor for the OH-58D helicopter. In May 2010, she became the Commander of C Troop, 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment. In this role, she was in charge of training new Army pilots and instructors for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.
She also completed more training courses in 2011 and 2012. She served as an intelligence officer for a command squadron. In June 2013, McClain graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School. In total, she has flown over 2,000 hours in different aircraft. These include the Kiowa Warrior, the Beechcraft C-12 Huron, the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, and the Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota.
NASA Career: Reaching for the Stars
In June 2013, the same month she finished test pilot school, Anne McClain was chosen by NASA. She became part of Astronaut Group 21. At 34 years old, she was the youngest astronaut on NASA's list at that time. She finished her astronaut training in July 2015, which meant she was ready for space missions.
She flew to the International Space Station in December 2018 and returned to Earth in June 2019. On December 9, 2020, NASA announced that McClain was one of the astronauts chosen for the Artemis program. This program aims to send humans back to the Moon.
Expedition 58/59: First Space Mission
For her first trip to space, McClain was assigned as a flight engineer for ISS Expedition 60/61. This mission was planned to launch in June–July 2019. However, plans changed. In January 2018, another astronaut, Jeanette Epps, was removed from her mission. This led to a series of changes in astronaut assignments. McClain was then moved to the main crew for Expedition 58/Expedition 59. She joined Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques.
The crew of Expedition 58/59 launched aboard Soyuz MS-11 on December 3, 2018. They lifted off from the Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The launch was moved up after an earlier rocket launch, Soyuz MS-10, had a problem. The crew successfully reached the ISS six hours later. They spent just over two weeks with the Expedition 57 crew, whose return to Earth had been delayed.
First Spacewalk
On March 22, 2019, McClain and Nick Hague performed their first spacewalk. A spacewalk is also called an EVA. During this EVA, they installed adapter plates. They also helped move batteries using a robotic arm called Dextre. The spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes. They also cleaned up debris from the Unity module. This was to prepare for the arrival of a supply ship called Cygnus NG-11. They also stored tools and secured parts of the solar array.
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McClain was supposed to do another spacewalk on March 29 with Christina Koch. This would have been the first spacewalk with only women. However, there were issues with spacesuit sizes. So, this spacewalk was instead done by Hague and Koch. McClain did her second spacewalk with Saint-Jacques on April 8.
McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft on June 24, 2019.
Expedition 72/73: Commander of SpaceX Crew-10
Anne McClain was chosen to be the commander for the SpaceX Crew-10 mission. This mission flew to the International Space Station on March 14, 2025. Her crewmates included pilot Nichole Ayers and mission specialists Takuya Onishi and Kirill Peskov.
Awards and Honors
Anne McClain has received many awards for her service. These include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal. She also has the Air Medal with a special "V" device for valor, and two more Air Medals. Other awards include two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, and the Iraq Campaign Medal. She also received the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and three Overseas Service Ribbons. The University of Bath also gave her an honorary Doctorate in Engineering.
Images for kids
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The six-member Expedition 57 crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Zvezda service module on December 10, 2018.
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Expedition 57 crew gathers inside the Destiny laboratory on December 18, 2018.
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Four Expedition 59 astronauts pose for a playful portrait inside the Harmony module on May 4, 2019.
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Anne McClain after her first landing near the town of Zhezkazgan on June 25, 2019.
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See also
In Spanish: Anne McClain para niños
