Black alum Jeanette Epps shares her space journey and mission for representation
The room buzzed with energy as NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps walked in, her bright blue jacket was embellished with space-themed patches, as she came ready to face an audience that spanned generations.
Among them, a little girl in a white astronaut helmet sat, ready to embrace every word.
“How do you blow your nose in space?” the little girl asked.
After some laughter, Epps smiled and replied, “You blow your nose just like you do here . The only problem is you have to make sure you catch everything, otherwise, you’ll make your crewmates angry. You don’t want to do that to your crewmates.”
Epps is the epitome of the saying “the sky’s the limit”, inspiring generations to reach for the stars.
During the University of Maryland’s annual Maryland Day on Saturday, Jeanette Epps, a 1994 and 2000 Black alumna, returned for a fireside chat to share her experience after spending nearly eight months at the International Space Station.
The chat offered an inside look at her journey, featuring pictures of mind-boggling views from the space station, videos of Epps doing backflips in zero gravity and a series of burning questions from young dreamers inspired by her historic mission.
Epps noted that she did not always want to be an astronaut. As a child, her brother encouraged her to pursue space travel after Sally Ride was selected as the first American woman in space in 1983.
“I always said, ‘well, they’ll never pick me to be an astronaut, but I can definitely become an aerospace engineer,’” she said.
Crediting some of her success to her master’s and doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering from the A. James Clark School of Engineering, Epps went on to work at Ford Motor Company as a technical specialist in the Scientific Research Laboratory before joining the CIA as a Technical Intelligence Officer.
In 2009, Epps, along with eight other crewmates, was selected to be a part of NASA’s 20th astronaut class. After receiving the news, she called her mother, who unfortunately passed away five days later. Her mother was the reason she knew she belonged in this white-male dominated space.
“My mother made it seem like what [my siblings and I] were doing was normal, so we continued on,” she said. “And to be part of a group where it is all men or maybe one other woman, it seemed like what we were doing was normal.”
After intensive training ranging from russian language classes to spacewalk training, on March 3, 2024, Epps went on to become the second Black woman to be onboard a long-term mission to the International Space Station.
The mission did not come without its challenges. Epps recounted a difficult day in orbit where they had to close a hatch and repress an airlock to save a crew member.
In addition, the sleeping arrangements involved tiny closets, which were considered the crew quarters. Their sleeping bags were attached to a wall on a bungee cord and with zero gravity; she would float in her sleep, but could still use her Netflix password.
“Everything floats,” she said. “You don’t hold your head up or down. It just floats there. So you have to [attach your sleeping bag to the wall], otherwise you would float away. My Netflix password did work, though,” she added with a laugh after being asked about her source for entertainment.
Faith Chukwuma, a freshman at The Community College of Baltimore County, attended the fireside chat and was inspired by Epps’ journey.
“It was very inspiring,” she said. “Especially as a Black woman going into engineering, it was very cool.”
Chukwuma hopes to transfer to the University of Maryland and attend the A. James Clark School of Engineering, just as Epps did.
Epps believes that the representation of minorities in the aerospace field is more important now than ever.
“In this time with the government, now more than ever, I want to encourage more females, young males and African Americans to enter the field,” she said. “It is important to be seen.”