Dr. Jeanette J. Epps is a NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer whose career spans the automotive industry, national intelligence, and long-duration spaceflight. Raised in Syracuse, New York, she pursued a Bachelor of Science in Physics from LeMoyne College before earning a Master’s and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland. Her doctoral research focused on rotorcraft at the University of Maryland, where she tested composite swept-tip beams and utilized shape memory alloys to track helicopter rotor blades in-flight. Following her academic training, Epps joined the Ford Motor Company as a researcher, where she secured patents for her work on vibration dampening and collision location detection.

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Epps’ path to NASA included seven years as a Technical Intelligence Officer for the CIA, a role that included a tour in Iraq. This background in engineering and intelligence provided the foundation for her selection in 2009 as one of 14 members of NASA’s 20th astronaut class. Her preparation for space involved 16 years of training, including Russian language immersion and extreme environment simulations. She spent nine days living underwater during the NEEMO mission and five days in Slovenian cave systems to study team dynamics and safety protocols in isolated, high-pressure environments.

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On March 3, 2024, Epps launched to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission. During her 235 days aboard the station, she served as a flight engineer for Expedition 71, conducting scientific experiments and maintaining the orbiting laboratory. While in orbit, she noted that viewing the Earth from space reinforced the absence of political borders and highlighted the necessity of global cooperation. She compared the physical sensation of weightlessness to the neutral buoyancy of scuba diving, noting that the station eventually felt like home during her nearly eight-month mission.

Now returned to Earth, Epps focuses on the "Mission Ready" brand, which centers on scientific education and the importance of community in technical fields. She advocates for a proactive approach to career challenges, emphasizing that consistent effort over time leads to significant professional outcomes. Her mentorship often draws on her mother’s perspective that difficult subjects are simply those that have not yet been learned.

 

Epps remains a proponent of the Artemis program and the growing commercial space sector, viewing the Moon as a necessary engineering test bed for future missions to Mars.

Epps’ career trajectory serves as an example of how multidisciplinary backgrounds contribute to space exploration. She maintains that no individual reaches orbit alone, emphasizing the roles of mentorship and teamwork in high-stakes environments.

 

By sharing the technical and personal requirements of her 233-day mission, she aims to provide a realistic framework for the next generation of engineers and explorers.

 

Her focus remains on the intersection of curiosity and discipline, encouraging students to pursue technical expertise while remaining mindful of the responsibility to care for the home planet.