jsc2026m000034_Meet_NASA_Astronaut_Jessica_Meir_Crew-12_Commander_SOCIAL

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir is the commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission. This is her second spaceflight. Upon her arrival to the International Space Station, she will join Expedition 74/75, kicking off a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory. She was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013. The Caribou, Maine native earned a bachelor’s degree in biology Brown University, a master’s degree in space studies from the International Space University, and a doctorate in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. On her first spaceflight, Meir spent 205 days as a flight engineer during Expedition 61/62, and she completed the first three all-woman spacewalks with fellow NASA astronaut Christina Koch, totaling 21 hours and 44 minutes outside of the station. Since then, she has served in various roles, including assistant to the chief astronaut for commercial crew (SpaceX), deputy for the Flight Integration Division, and assistant to the chief astronaut for the human landing system.