Two accomplished women with Arizona ties have their sights set on the moon.
Mesa native and University of Arizona graduate Chris Birch is one of NASA’s newest astronauts. She is joined by 11 other astronaut candidates, including Jessica Wittner, who is another University of Arizona grad.
At a graduation ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston Tuesday, both women officially became astronauts, meaning they can be chosen to go to the International Space Station, and, one day, even the moon and Mars.
ABC15 got a chance to talk to Birch and Wittner after their graduation. Hear from them about their experiences and future endeavors in the video player above.
Read more about each of the astronauts from NASA below:
- Chris (Christina) Birch grew up in the East Valley, and graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson, with degrees in Mathematics and Biochemistry and Molecular biophysics. After earning a doctorate in biological engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she taught bioengineering at the University of California in Riverside, and scientific writing and communication at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. She subsequently left academia to become a track cyclist on the U.S. National Team.
- Jessica Wittner, lieutenant commander, U.S. Navy, is a native of California with a distinguished career serving on active duty as a naval aviator and test pilot. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and a master’s in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Wittner was commissioned as a naval officer through an enlisted-to-officer program and has served operationally flying F/A-18 fighter jets with Strike Fighter Squadron 34 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Strike Fighter Squadron 151 in Lemoore, California. A graduate of U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, she also worked as a test pilot and project officer with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 in China Lake, California.
