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US astronaut Jessica Watkins sets sights on Moon ... and Mars
At 34, Watkins has many years ahead of her at the United States space agency NASA, and could very well be one of the first women to step foot on the Moon in the coming years as a member of the Artemis team preparing for upcoming lunar missions.
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Moon and beyond: US astronaut Jessica Watkins speaks during an interview from the Columbus module of the International Space Station, in this screen grab provided by AFPTV on Aug. 9. (AFP/AFPTV)
If you had the choice, would you rather go to the Moon or Mars?
The question is utterly theoretical for most of us, but for US astronaut Jessica Watkins, it hits a bit differently.
"Whichever comes first!" Watkins says with a laugh, in a lengthy interview with AFP from her post on the International Space Station (ISS).
At 34, Watkins has many years ahead of her at the United States space agency NASA, and could very well be one of the first women to step foot on the Moon in the coming years as a member of the Artemis team preparing for upcoming lunar missions.
Missions to Mars are off in the future, but given that astronauts often work into their 50s, Watkins could conceivably have a shot.
Either way is just fine, she says.
"I certainly would be just absolutely thrilled to be able to be a part of the effort to go to another planetary surface, whether it be the Moon or Mars."
