Astronaut | Curious About Careers
5/10/2021 | 2mVideo has Closed Captions
Janellyn’s knowledge about space blasts off with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir!
Janellyn’s knowledge about space blasts off with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir! Jessica launches into her experience of what it’s like to be in outer space, including being a part of the first all-female spacewalk. Janellyn learns how Jessica’s love of biology led to her passion to become an astronaut with NASA.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Curious About Careers is a local public television program presented by WKAR
Original production funding for Curious About Careers was provided by Capital Area College Access Network and United Way South Central Michigan.
Astronaut | Curious About Careers
5/10/2021 | 2mVideo has Closed Captions
Janellyn’s knowledge about space blasts off with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir! Jessica launches into her experience of what it’s like to be in outer space, including being a part of the first all-female spacewalk. Janellyn learns how Jessica’s love of biology led to her passion to become an astronaut with NASA.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Hi, I'm Janellyn.
And today I'm with Astronaut Jessica Meir.
Jessica, how long have you been an astronaut and what is it like?
- I've been an astronaut since 2013, but it's something that I've thought about my entire life.
I started saying I wanted to be an astronaut when I was five years old.
And I was just curious about that world around me, about the plants and the animals.
And biology was my favorite subject.
And that led to an interest in space as well.
- How is STEM incorporated into your job?
- So actually, in order to become an astronaut, you have to have a degree in a STEM field.
So any kind of science, technology, engineering, math degree, that really is the building block of everything that we do as astronauts.
- What's it like in outer space?
- I was on the International Space Station for almost seven months.
I had the biggest smile on my face.
And that smile really didn't leave the entire mission all seven months.
It just never gets old to be floating all the time and to be looking out the window and having the most extraordinary view.
I wish that I could share that view with everybody on the planet.
I really think it's this perspective that allows us to see how connected we truly are as humans and that we really are all in this together.
So I've thought a lot about the first all female spacewalk that I was part of with my colleague and friend, Christina Cook.
Now, of course, there had been other women that walked in space before us, but it was the first time that there were two women outside at the same time.
And I think both Christina and I would say we didn't really look at it as a personal achievement for us, instead, it was more paying tribute to the generations of women and other minorities that came before us.
And now, it's our duty to inspire the next generations of women and minorities that will come and continue that progress forward.
- Talking with Astronaut Jessica Meir was out of this world.
Explore your possibilities.
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Curious About Careers is a local public television program presented by WKAR
Original production funding for Curious About Careers was provided by Capital Area College Access Network and United Way South Central Michigan.