Jeanette Epps facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeanette Epps
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Official portrait, December 2023
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Jeanette Jo Epps
November 3, 1970 Syracuse, New York, U.S.
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| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
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Time in space
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235 days, 3 hours and 35 minutes |
| Selection | NASA Group 20 (2009) |
| Missions | SpaceX Crew-8 ( Expeditions 70/71/72) |
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Mission insignia
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Aerospace engineering |
| Thesis | In-Flight Tracking of Helicopter Rotor Blades with Tabs Using Shape Memory Alloy Actuators (2000) |
| Doctoral advisor | Inderjit Chopra |
Jeanette Jo Epps (born November 3, 1970) is an American aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut. She earned her master's and PhD degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland. She was chosen to become a NASA astronaut in 2009 and finished her training in 2011. Jeanette Epps is currently part of the team that manages operations on the ISS. She has also taken part in special training missions, like NEEMO 18 and CAVES 19. She was the second woman and the first African-American woman to join the CAVES program. She flew on the SpaceX Crew-8 mission, spending 235 days on the ISS from March 4 to October 25, 2024.
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Early Life and Education
Jeanette Epps was born in Syracuse, New York. She was one of seven children born to Henry and Luberta Epps. Her parents moved to Syracuse from Mississippi during a time called the Great Migration. Jeanette and her twin sister, Janet, were very good at math and science.
She graduated from Corcoran High School in Syracuse. She then earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Le Moyne College. Later, she received both her master's and PhD degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland.
Early Career and Research
While studying for her advanced degrees at the University of Maryland, Jeanette Epps received a special fellowship from NASA. She published many important research papers during this time. Her studies focused on how different materials behave, especially in things like helicopter parts. She looked at how to use special materials to help helicopter rotor blades move better while flying.
After finishing her studies, Epps worked as a researcher at Ford Motor Company. There, she helped develop new ways to reduce vibrations in car parts. She even helped create a patent for finding where a car crash happened. After Ford, she worked for seven years as a Technical Intelligence Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This work included trips to Iraq.
Becoming a NASA Astronaut
In June 2009, Jeanette Epps was chosen to be a NASA astronaut candidate. She completed her training in 2011. Her training was very thorough and included learning Russian, practicing spacewalks (called EVAs), and learning about robotics. She also trained in a T-38 jet and attended the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
Epps also spent nine days living underwater in the Aquarius underwater laboratory during the NEEMO 18 mission in July 2014. This mission helped simulate living in space. She also studied geology in Hawaii. Epps has worked on improving how astronauts work on the ISS. For this work, she won an award in 2013. She also served as a CAPCOM for Mission Control, which means she was the main person talking to astronauts in space. She also trained for survival in cold weather and water in Russia.
ISS Missions and Training
On January 4, 2017, NASA announced that Epps would go to the International Space Station (ISS) in mid-2018. She was assigned as a flight engineer for Expeditions 56 and 57. However, on January 16, 2018, NASA announced that she had been replaced and would be considered for future missions. NASA did not share the specific reason for this change.
In 2019, Epps completed the ESA CAVES training program. This program simulates exploring unknown places, like the Moon or Mars, by exploring caves on Earth. Epps was the second woman to take part in CAVES.
Jeanette Epps often gives talks to groups, including at the University of Maryland. She is a member of the Society for Science & the Public and the AIAA. She was also a special guest at a big science fiction convention in Dublin, Ireland.
Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew-8
On August 25, 2020, NASA announced that Epps would join Starliner-1. This was planned to be the first regular mission of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the ISS. This mission was delayed several times. If it had launched as first planned, Epps would have been the first Black woman to be part of an ISS crew. However, Jessica Watkins achieved this milestone in 2022.
Because the Starliner mission kept getting delayed, Epps began training on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft as well.
In August 2023, NASA announced that Epps would fly as a Mission Specialist on SpaceX Crew-8. This mission was a half-year trip to the ISS. It launched on March 4, 2024, aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour. This mission made her the second African-American woman to be part of a long-duration mission on the ISS. Her mission stayed in space longer than planned because of delays with other missions and weather. Epps and her crewmates finally landed off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on October 25, 2024. Their mission lasted 235 days, setting a new record for the longest time an American crewed spacecraft has spent in space on a single mission.
Awards and Honors
Jeanette Epps has received many awards and honors for her work:
- 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 NASA GSRP Fellowship (a special award for graduate students)
- 2003, 2004, 2008 Exceptional Performance Award
- 2012 Academy of Distinguished Alumni, University of Maryland
- 2013 Johnson Space Center Director's Innovation Group Achievement Award
- 2014 Glenn L. Martin Medal, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland
- 2018 Honorary Member, Alpha Kappa Alpha (a sorority)
Honorary Doctorates
- 2016 Doctorate of Humane Letters, Le Moyne College, New York (an honorary degree)
See Also
In Spanish: Jeanette J. Epps para niños
- List of astronauts by name
- List of astronauts by year of selection
- List of black astronauts
- List of female astronauts
