21 Facts About Jeanette Epps

Jeanette Epps was chosen for the 20th class of NASA astronauts in 2009, graduating in 2011.

Jeanette Epps currently serves as a member of the ISS Operations Branch and has completed analog astronaut missions, including NEEMO 18 and CAVES 19.

Jeanette Epps is the second woman and first African-American woman to have participated in CAVES.

Jeanette Epps was part of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission, that spent 235 days on the ISS from launch on March 4,2024, to return to Earth on October 25,2024.

Jeanette Epps was born in Syracuse, New York, one of seven children born to Henry and Luberta Epps, Mississippians who moved to Syracuse as part of the Great Migration.

Jeanette Epps's research was focused in the area of materials engineering, which included comprehensive testing of composite swept-tip beams, comparison of analytical models with experimental results for shape memory alloys, and use of shape memory alloy actuators for tracking helicopter rotor blades in-flight.

Jeanette Epps worked at the CIA for seven years, including deployments to Iraq.

In June 2009, Jeanette Epps was selected as an astronaut candidate for the 20th class of NASA astronauts and later qualified in 2011.

Jeanette Epps's training included extensive Russian, spacewalk and robotics training, along with geology.

Jeanette Epps has completed T-38 jet training and has attended the National Outdoor Leadership School.

Jeanette Epps subsequently served as an aquanaut aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory during the NEEMO 18 undersea exploration mission for nine days starting on July 21,2014.

Jeanette Epps has worked with the Generic Joint Operation Panel as a representative, which included work on crew efficiency on the ISS.

Jeanette Epps has worked as CAPCOM for Mission Control, including serving as lead CAPCOM, and currently serves in ISS Operations Branch.

Jeanette Epps has completed training in winter and water survival in Star City, Russia.

On January 4,2017, NASA announced that Epps would be assigned as a flight engineer to the International Space Station in mid-2018 for Expeditions 56 and 57, but on January 16,2018, NASA announced that Epps had been replaced by her backup Serena M Aunon-Chancellor and would instead be "considered for assignment to future missions".

In 2019, Jeanette Epps completed the ESA CAVES training program simulating the demands of exploring unknown terrains like those of the Moon and Mars.

Jeanette Epps is the second woman and first Black woman to participate in CAVES, following fellow NASA astronaut, Jessica Meir.

Jeanette Epps speaks to gatherings and has done so at the University of Maryland multiple times, including at the 2013 winter commencement ceremony for the university's engineering school.

Jeanette Epps was a special guest at the 77th World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin, Ireland.

Jeanette Epps began cross-training on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft as the Starliner-1 mission kept getting delayed.

Jeanette Epps has authored several highly referenced works, including conference and journal papers from her graduate research, along with a patent from her work at the Ford Motor Company.