Jessica U. Meir

Jessica U. Meir was selected by NASA in 2013. She holds 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 (UCSD). From 2000 to 2003, Dr. Meir worked for Lockheed Martin’s Human Research Facility, supporting human physiology research. During this time, she also participated in research flights on NASA’s reduced gravity aircraft and served as an aquanaut in an underwater habitat for NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO). Meir most recently served as flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 61 and 62.

Expedition 61 and 62 (September 25, 2019 through April 17, 2020):
The crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. Meir, who served as Flight Engineer, was also joined by Soyuz Commander Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.  During her first spaceflight, Meir conducted the first three all-woman spacewalks with crewmate Christina Koch of NASA, totaling 21 hours and 44 minutes. The crew contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development. Among the investigations to which she contributed is a study co-led by a former colleague of hers, examining how human heart tissue functions in space.  She spent 205 days in space, 3,280 orbits of Earth and a trip of 86.9 million miles.