Jeanette Epps

Jeanette Epps
Official portrait, December 2023
Born
Jeanette Jo Epps

(1970-11-03) November 3, 1970 (age 54)
EducationLe Moyne College (BS)
University of Maryland, College Park (MS, PhD)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
235 days, 3 hours and 35 minutes
SelectionNASA Group 20 (2009)
MissionsSpaceX Crew-8 ( Expeditions 70/71/72)
Mission insignia
Scientific career
FieldsAerospace engineering
ThesisIn-Flight Tracking of Helicopter Rotor Blades with Tabs Using Shape Memory Alloy Actuators (2000)
Doctoral advisorInderjit Chopra

Jeanette Jo Epps (born November 3, 1970) is an American aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut. Epps received both her M. S. and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, where she was part of the rotor-craft research group and was a NASA GSRP Fellow. She was chosen for the 20th class of NASA astronauts in 2009, graduating in 2011. She currently serves as a member of the ISS Operations Branch and has completed analog astronaut missions, including NEEMO 18 and CAVES 19. She is the second woman and first African-American woman to have participated in CAVES. She 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.