Our very own star, Anne C. McClain (MSc 2005), will shoot up into space this week with NASA to serve on the International Space Station.
Anne McClain beat more than 6,100 other applicants to be part NASA’s 2015 class of astronauts – the first graduating class in which the group has been evenly split along gender lines. Anne, a Major in the US Army, is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the US Naval Test Pilot School, as well as an OH-58 helicopter pilot.
In an interview with Glamour, Anne said: ‘Wanting to be an astronaut feels more like my destiny. With so much conflict in the world, space exploration can be a beacon of hope. No one cares about race or religion or nationality in space travel. We’re all just part of Team Human.’
She will spend six months on the international Space Station with two other astronauts. The Expedition 58 will work on experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science in an environment not possible on Earth. The crew is also expected to be present on the International Space Station when Boeing conducts its first unmanned test flights to the ISS. It is the first time 100 orbital launches have taken place in a year since 1990.