Jeanette J. Epps, American aerospace engineer and astronaut

Jeanette Jo Epps is an American aerospace engineer and retired 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 served as a member of the ISS Operations Branch and 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 in space and 232 days on the ISS from launch on March 4, 2024 to return to Earth on October 25, 2024.