Fairview High grad Jessica Watkins answers student questions from International Space Station
NASA Astronauts Jessica Watkins and Samantha Cristoforetti answered 30 prerecorded questions from Fairview High School students during a space-to-Earth call Monday from the International Space Station.
Watkins, a 2006 Fairview High graduate, is serving as a mission specialist on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, which launched April 27. Cristoforetti, who is Italian, is from the European Space Agency. The two women are joined on the space station by two other American astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts.
“We can accomplish so much when we all come together and use our strengths,” Watkins said, praising the international cooperation involved in staffing the space station.
Watkins encouraged students to seek support through mentors and friends, as well as to “listen to all your teachers at Fairview.” She also urged students to figure out what they really love as they choose careers.
“You will be happy every day of your life,” she said.
Asked what she was thinking during take-off, she said, she felt “overwhelming joy and excitement.”
“It was just this whole culmination of our training and this dream I’ve had for a long time,” she said, telling students she decided she wanted to become an astronaut at an early age.
In response to a question asking if it’s fun to be in a zero-gravity space, Cristoforetti propelled herself up toward the ceiling and Watkins did a slow flip. For entertainment, they said, they eat meals and watch movies together, as well as look out the windows.
Watkins ended the call by talking about the jobs she performs on the space station, including running science experiments and performing maintenance. Over the weekend, that included fixing a toilet, prompting Cristoforetti to thank Fairview for “giving us a fantastic space plumber.”
About 600 Fairview students watched the call from the Boulder school’s auditorium, while others watched in the library and classrooms. School leaders said Watkins requested a chance to speak to Fairview students. School leaders then asked students to submit questions for the astronauts, picking 30 and recording the students asking them.
Watkins, who moved with family to Lafayette in fifth grade, earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a doctorate in geology from the University of California Los Angeles. She has worked at NASA’s Ames Research Center and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and was a science team collaborator for the “Curiosity” Mars rover. She joined NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Class in 2017.
Senior Sadie Korngold-Finkelstein wanted to know how it felt to see the Earth for the first time from space. Watkins responded that “Earth is absolutely gorgeous,” adding that she finds new marvels daily while viewing her home planet from space.
“I really loved the answer,” Korngold-Finkelstein said. “It’s just such a unique perspective to see our planet from space. It’s really cool to see women who have achieved so much. You can see the Fairview spirit come through, even from space.”
Junior Meera Khadakkar wanted to know if Watkins’ dreams changed in space — they didn’t. She said hearing directly from astronauts on the International Space Station was “really, really cool.”
“It was a very big life experience,” she said. “It’s a huge inspiration, especially because one of the astronauts is a Fairview grad.”
Senior Lauren Patwardhan, who asked for advice for young women pursuing STEM fields, said she was a little disappointed Watkins didn’t share any specific stories of the challenges of going into what traditionally was a male-dominated field.
But, she added, both astronauts are “incredibly inspiring women.”
“It was fascinating,” said Patwardhan, who is planning to double major in physics and engineering at California Polytechnic State University. “I’m interested in aeronautics. I want to work on planes and rockets. I want to blaze some trails.”
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