NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins to set new record for Black women in space (report)

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins is preparing to make history as the first Black woman to embark on an extended mission in space.

This April, Watkins will launch to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will lift off as part of the company’s Crew-4 mission. Watkins, who is a part of NASA’s Artemis program — an effort to return humans to the moon — will serve as a mission specialist, spending about six months living and working on the orbiting lab. This will be Watkins’ first flight to space.