Generation Artemis: Meet the 16 Active Women Astronauts of NASA

NASA aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon in 2024 under the Artemis Program. Let’s meet the 16 active women astronauts of the NASA Astronaut Corps. One of these accomplished astronauts could be the first woman to set foot on the lunar surface!

December 09, 2020

By: Alexia Rosenfield

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Photo By: Bill Stafford/NASA/JSC

Photo By: NASA

Photo By: Bill Stafford/NASA/JSC

Photo By: Robert Markowitz/NASA

Photo By: NASA

Photo By: Robert Markowitz/NASA

Photo By: Bill Stafford/NASA/JSC

Photo By: Josh Valcarcel/NASA/JSC

Photo By: NASA

Photo By: Bill Stafford/NASA/JSC

Photo By: NASA

Kayla Barron

Kayla Barron is a member of the 2017 NASA Astronaut Candidate Class. She is waiting for her first mission assignment to space. Barron graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering and earned a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Cambridge. She was a member of the first class of women commissioned into the submarine community as a Submarine Warefare Officer.

Zena Cardman

Zena Cardman is a member of the 2017 NASA Astronaut Candidate Class. She is waiting for her first mission assignment to space. Cardman has a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, and a Master’s of Science in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her education and training has led her on many Antarctic expeditions. Cardman's main focus of research ranged from microorganisms in subsurface environments to caves and deep sea sediments.

Tracy Caldwell Dyson

Tracy Caldwell Dyson became an astronaut for NASA in 1998. She has a Ph.D. in Chemistry, and has flown on two space flights. Dr. Caldwell Dyson has worked on electronics and hardware associated with the study of atmospheric gas phase chemistry. She has logged more than 188 days in space, including over 22 hours in three spacewalks.

Jeanette J. Epps

Jeanette J. Epps became an astronaut for NASA in 2009. Dr. Epps worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for seven years as a Technical Intelligence Officer before joining NASA. She currently supports space station crews in the ISS Operations Branch and has been selected to join the future first operational Boeing crew mission to the space station.

Christina H. Koch

Christina Hammock Koch became an astronaut for NASA in 2013. Koch set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space. She has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Physics and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Nicole A. Mann

Nicole Aunapu Mann became an astronaut for NASA after being selected in 2013. She is currently training for the crew flight test of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Mann has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. She was a test pilot for the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps.

Megan McArthur

Megan McArthur became an astronaut for NASA in 2000. She has a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of California, San Diego. McArthur served as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-125, the final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. In completing her first space mission, she has logged about 13 days in space.

Anne C. McClain

Anne C. McClain became an astronaut for NASA in 2013. She has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical/Aeronautical Engineering from West Point. A 2002 Marshall Scholar, McClain earned a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Bath in Bath, England and a Master of Science in International Relations from the University of Bristol in Bristol, England. As a Lieutenant, she is a Senior Army Aviator and has more than 2,000 flight hours in 20 different aircraft. She was a Flight Engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 58/59.

Jessica U. Meir

Jessica U. Meir became an astronaut for NASA in 2013. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Brown University, a Master of Science in Space Studies from the International Space University, and a Doctorate in Marine Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Meir was as flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 61/62.

Jasmin Moghbeli

Jasmin Moghbeli is a member of the the 2017 NASA Astronaut Candidate Class. She is waiting for her first mission assignment to space. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering with Information Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a Master of Science in Engineering Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. As a Marine Corps test pilot, she has logged over 150 combat missions and 2,000 hours of flight time in over 25 different aircraft.

Loral O'Hara

Loral O’Hara became an astronaut for NASA in 2017. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kansas and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University. Prior to joining NASA, she focused on deep-ocean scientific research submersibles and robots.

Kathleen "Kate" Rubins

Kathleen Rubins became an astronaut for NASA in 2009. She was the first person to sequence DNA in space. Rubins has a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from the University of California and a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University Medical School. She is currently aboard the International Space Station for a six-month mission as a flight engineer for Expedition 64, which launched in October of 2020.

Shannon Walker

Shannon Walker became an astronaut for NASA in 2004. She has logged over 163 days in space. Walker has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics, a Master of Science and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Space Physics from Rice University. As a mission specialist, she is currently aboard the ISS as a member of SpaceX Crew-1, which launched November 15, 2020.

Jessica Watkins

Jessica Watkins was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. She is waiting for her mission assignment to space. Watkins has a Bachelor of Science in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University, and a Doctorate in Geology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Stephanie D. Wilson

Stephanie D. Wilson has logged more than 42 days in space. She became an astronaut for NASA in 1996. She has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science from Harvard University as well as a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. As a member of the NASA Astronaut Office, she is currently the Mission Support Crew Branch Chief.

Sunita L. Williams

Sunita L. Williams (Suni) became an astronaut for NASA in 1998. She has been to space on two missions to the ISS. Currently, Williams is training for the first post-certification mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.