The Mariner 4 probe was launched in 1964 and traveled toward Mars. It was the first satellite to take up close pictures of another planet.
Credit: NASA

On Earth, the blue and green planet of our solar system, we are celebrating Red Planet Day today, November 28. The red planet is a nickname for Mars, the fourth planet from the sun. On November 28, 1964, NASA launched the first mission toward Mars, with the Mariner 4 probe. We call it “the Red Planet” because the surface of Mars has a reddish color due to the weathered iron-rich minerals present in the Martian dust and surface rocks. The iron oxidizes creating rust. We should call it the rusty planet! Many ancient peoples associated the planet with war and conflict because of its blood-red appearance. Indeed, Mars is the Latin name for the ancient Roman god of war.

Mars, like Earth, has clouds in its atmosphere and deposits of ice at its poles. But unlike Earth, Mars has little to no liquid water on its surface. The rustlike color of Mars comes from the large amount of iron in the planet’s soil.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Humans have been studying Mars for centuries. Visible from Earth with the unaided eye, Mars has always captivated us! Of all the planets in our solar system, Mars has the surface environment that most closely resembles that of Earth. Mars has weather and seasons and landforms that appear familiar. Salty water may flow just below the planet’s surface. Like Earth, the sun, and the rest of the solar system, Mars is about 4.6 billion years old.

Mars has a special place in popular culture, one that is unique among the planets. This fascination with Mars probably developed because the planet is relatively close to and similar to Earth. Early observations with Earth-based telescopes inspired popular speculation that Mars was home to all kinds of life, even alien civilizations. Many works of science fiction have played upon these ideas, showing humans visiting Mars or malevolent Martians invading Earth.

A Martian landscape includes jagged rocks, sand dunes, and hazy clouds. The image, taken by the United States rover Curiosity, has been adjusted to show the natural color of the planet, as it would appear to an observer on the surface.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

In the 1960’s, the U.S. Mariner spacecraft showed Mars to be a cold, desert planet devoid of visible life. But Mars continues to fascinate people with hints of past surface water and the possibility that microscopic life once existed or still exists there. Experts also view Mars as the next likely target for human space exploration and perhaps even as a stepping stone to exploring the rest of the solar system.

Robotic spacecraft began detailed observation of Mars in the 1960′s. The United States launched to Mars the Mariner 4 probe in 1964 and Mariners 6 and 7 in 1969. The pictures they returned showed a barren surface, covered with craters like those on the moon. There was no sign of liquid water or life. The spacecraft observed few of the planet’s most interesting features because they happened to fly by only heavily cratered regions. But when Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars in 1971, people’s view of Mars completely changed. Mariner 9 mapped about 80 percent of Mars and made the first discoveries of the planet’s canyons and volcanoes. It also found the first evidence for water, taking photographs of the outflow channels and valley networks.

Ham, chimpanzee sent into space
Credit: MSFC/NASA

When thinking of Project Mercury, students likely point to the first astronauts. Mercury was the first National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project to send humans into space. They were some of the first beings to traverse the stars aboard a rocket and orbit the Earth, but that’s not all. Primates are the group of animals that includes monkeys, apes, and human beings. The first primate in space wasn’t cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin—it was a brave chimpanzee named Ham.

Ham was one of several animals used in Project Mercury. The Mercury capsule was tested with chimps and other primates before launching humans into space. Chimpanzees were used because they are intelligent and closely related to humans, with the ability to be trained to perform simulated spacecraft operations. Ham helped to prepare the U.S. space program for human space flight.

Ham was born in the 1950’s in a forest in Cameroon (then French Cameroon). The U.S. Air Force had chimps captured from the forest and sent to the United States. In 1959, 40 chimps were enrolled in the “School for Space Chimps” on the Holloman Air Force Base in Alamagordo, New Mexico. They were given the nickname astrochimps and trained for spaceflight. Another astrochimp, Enos, later became the first and only chimpanzee to orbit Earth.

At just 3 years old, Ham, also known as Subject 65, excelled at his tasks. The nickname Ham stood for Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, where the chimps were trained. Ham learned to pull levers when cued by a blue light. The chimps were trained to spend long periods in a chair and were subjected to extreme acceleration forces and microgravity, the sensation of weightlessness experienced by astronauts in space. After 18 months, Ham and five other well-performing chimps were sent to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1961 for an experimental flight. The brief suborbital flight was to test the environmental controls, life support, and recovery systems of the Mercury spacecraft in weightless conditions.

On Jan. 31, 1961, a Mercury-Redstone 2 rocket took off with Ham as its passenger. He was strapped into a “couch” in the small, pressurized capsule. The craft briefly lost air pressure during the flight, but Ham’s capsule saved him from harm. The rocket traveled 400 miles (640 kilometers) and peaked around 160 miles (250 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. It went higher and faster than NASA’s plan, which called for a peak of 115 miles (185 kilometers) altitude and a top speed of 4,400 miles (7,000 kilometers) per hour. The rocket actually reached speeds of 5,800 miles (9,300 kilometers) per hour.

The flight lasted about 16 ½ minutes. Ham experienced 6 ½ minutes of weightlessness. Ham was dressed in a spacesuit and waterproof pants. He was hooked up to sensors that recorded his body temperature, breathing, and heart rate. The flight was probably extremely distressing to Ham. Despite the stress of weightlessness and crushing acceleration forces, Ham was able to pull levers in response to flashing blue lights. He proved that astronauts could perform motor functions under the stresses of spaceflight. His capsule splashed down in the ocean and was recovered 130 miles (210 kilometers) from its target. The capsule was taking on water, and Ham had been waiting in distress for hours.

After the flight, Ham was relocated to the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., in 1963. After 17 years living alone there, Ham joined other chimps at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro in 1980. Ham died on Jan. 18, 1983, at the age of 25, young for a chimp. His remains were buried by the U.S. Air Force at the International Space Hall of Fame in the Museum of Space History in Alamogordo. His skeleton was kept for scientific study at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington D.C. NASA eventually stopped sending non-human primates into space in the 1990’s, in part due to pressure from animal rights groups.

Nicole Aunapu Mann became the first Indigenous American woman in space in October 2022 aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station.
Credit: NASA

Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States! Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates and honors Indigenous Americans’ history and culture. On October 5, 2022, Mann became the first Indigenous (native) American woman in space. Nicole Aunapu Mann is an American astronaut and Marine Corps test pilot. Mann and three other astronauts launched on National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). While aboard the ISS, Mann will served as flight engineer. Mann and the crew safely landed back on Earth on March 11, 2023. Mann is a member of the Wailacki people of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. The Round Valley Indian Tribes is a confederation of tribes designated to the Round Valley Indian Reservation in Mendocino County, California.

In 2013, the NASA chose Mann to be an astronaut. Mann completed astronaut training in July 2015. She led the development of the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) launch facility, the Orion crewed spacecraft, and Space Launch System (SLS), built to carry the Orion craft into space. NASA selected Mann to serve as mission commander on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission on the Crew Dragon capsule en route to the International Space Station. SpaceX is a private company that owns and operates the rocket and spacecraft used in the mission. A Falcon 9 rocket was scheduled to launch the mission’s Crew Dragon capsule.

Mann joined the United States Marine Corps in 1999 as a second lieutenant. She reported to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, for flight training in 2001. Mann became a Navy pilot in 2003 and began her operational flying career in 2004.  Mann deployed twice to Afghanistan and Iraq, completing 47 combat missions. After her deployments, she completed Navy Test Pilot School and served as a test pilot for many types of naval aircraft.

Nicole Victoria Aunapu was born in Petaluma, California, on June 27, 1977. She enrolled in the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1995. Mann earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1999. She completed a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from California’s Stanford University in 2001. In 2009, she married Navy pilot Travis Mann.

Indian-born American astronaut Kalpana Chawla
Credit: NASA

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-born American astronaut. In 1997, she became the first Indian-born woman to travel in space. Chawla served on two missions aboard the United States space shuttle Columbia as a mission specialist and robotic arm operator.

Chawla was born on March 17, 1962, in Karnal, northern India. Karnal was part of the state of Punjab at that time. Today, it is part of the state of Haryana. She graduated from the Punjab Engineering College in 1982. That same year, she immigrated to the United States. In 1984, she earned a master’s degree from the University of Texas in Austin. She married Jean-Pierre Harrison, an aviation teacher and author, in 1983. She received her doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1988. She then went to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In 1994, she was selected for training as an astronaut candidate.

In 1997, Chawla flew her first mission on the shuttle Columbia. She was the second person of Indian descent to travel in space, following Indian-born cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, who traveled on a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1984. Chawla’s duties involved conducting experiments in microgravity, sometimes called zero gravity or weightlessness, and launching a satellite using the shuttle’s robotic arm. Her second mission was on the same shuttle in 2003. However, on Feb. 1, 2003, as the Columbia was returning to Earth after the 16-day mission, the spacecraft broke apart high over Texas. Chawla and six other crew members were killed.

Chawla received many honors for her work in space. They included the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. In addition, an asteroid that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter is named the 51826 Kalpanachawla in her honor.

This illustration shows an imagined view of the JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) spacecraft with the planet Jupiter and its four largest moons. JUICE was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Credit: ESA/ATG medialab/NASA/J. Nichols (University of Leicester)/Ganymede /JPL/University of Arizona/DLR

On Friday, April 14th, 2023, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched JUICE. Not a sweet fruit drink, but Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE). JUICE is a space probe designed to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. The probe was launched from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America.  The launch was delayed one day after lightning was detected in the area on Thursday morning. The spacecraft launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. JUICE separated from the rocket after thirty minutes and began its long journey.

Where is JUICE going? JUICE’s main targets are the moons Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. Scientists think these moons have oceans of water under an outer covering of ice. Some experts believe these oceans might contain extraterrestrial life. JUICE will reach Jupiter in 2031 and attempt to enter orbit around Ganymede in 2034. Before attempting orbit, JUICE will conduct 35 planned flybys to search for magnetic signals.

Past space probes have taken measurements of magnetic fields and gravity around Jupiter’s moons. A magnetic field is the area around a magnetic object in which its influence can be felt. Scientists use such measurements to make informed guesses about the characteristics of any subsurface (underground) ocean on each moon. They can estimate the thickness of the ice crust and the amount of water in the ocean.

JUICE carries instruments to collect detailed observations of Jupiter and its moons. The spacecraft’s radio instruments and magnetometer will collect data on the environment surrounding the moons. Its spectrometer will identify chemicals in Jupiter’s atmosphere and on its moons. JUICE’s laser altimeter will use laser pulses to map the surfaces of the moons. The spacecraft’s powerful camera will be able to spot surface features as small as 8 feet (2.5 meters) across on Ganymede. JUICE will use radar to detect subsurface features.

JUICE’s main goal is to help scientists understand Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa and their oceans more completely and accurately. The spacecraft will also take some distant measurements of other moons. However, a probe launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in October 2024 might beat JUICE to Jupiter. The Europa Clipper is planned to launch from the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, a much stronger rocket than the Ariane 5. The stronger launch will propel the Europa Clipper toward Jupiter at a much faster speed. The two missions are planning to work together to better understand Jupiter and its moons!

SpaceX launches Starship, the most powerful rocket ever made, on April 20, 2023. The rocket exploded above the Gulf of Mexico minutes after launching.
Credit: SpaceX

The most ambitious private rocket program ever got off to a tentative, but explosive, start today. In its first test launch, the giant rocket Starship lifted off, but exploded during flight.

Starship is a heavy-lift rocket developed and operated by the American spacecraft company SpaceX. It consists of the first-stage booster, called Super Heavy, and the spacecraft itself, which is also called Starship. It is more powerful than the Saturn V, the rocket that took astronauts to the moon throughout the Apollo program.

Super Heavy ignited and cleared the launch pad at Boca Chica, Texas. This was the company’s primary objective, as an explosion on or near the ground could have damaged the launch pad infrastructure. The second stage was then supposed to separate and fly in a suborbital trajectory most of the way around Earth, splashing down near Hawaii. But the second stage failed to separate; and the rocket began spinning. It exploded in a fireball about four minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX already has one extremely successful rocket. The Falcon 9 debuted in 2010 and, thanks to the reuse of its first stage, has become one of the most reliable and cost-efficient rockets of all time. It has flown over 200 successful missions.

SpaceX plans to expand on the reusability gains made with the Falcon 9. Super Heavy will return to the launch pad, where giant arms will grab it as it slowly descends. The second-stage starship will be able to coast back into the atmosphere in a way similar to the space shuttle, before using its engines to land vertically. Both stages can then be reused.

SpaceX and its founder, South-African born entrepreneur (business developer) Elon Musk, have big plans for Starship. Musk is most interested in using Starship to send crewed missions to Mars. He hopes to use the craft’s massive payload to send enough crew and material to the planet to create a self-sustaining colony.

But there are more prosaic uses for the big rocket. SpaceX predicts it will be even cheaper to launch than the Falcon 9, further driving down the cost of access to space. The craft will be able to carry the larger next-generation satellites for Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service. SpaceX is working for contracts to return U.S. astronauts to the moon for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) using Starship.

Space tourism is also on Starship’s flight manifest. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has financed the first crewed mission on Starship, tentatively scheduled to launch later this year. He will fly around the moon with a crew of seven artists, filmmakers, and other creatives.

More tests are needed before the rocket can take anyone anywhere, however. SpaceX engineers will analyze the data from the launch and see what went wrong. Musk stated that the company will conduct another Starship test launch in a few months. They’re hoping the next one will fly straighter and further.

The Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on June 14, 2022.
Credit: KSC/NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is one step closer to getting astronauts back on the moon after the Artemis-1 mission launch today, November 16th, 2022. Artemis-1 is the first mission in the three-ply plan to establish a better understanding of the moon en route to landing on Mars. The un-crewed Orion spacecraft will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on the Space Launch System rocket, NASA’s newest and most powerful rocket. The mission has been delayed due to Hurricane Ian and tropical storm Nicole.

The program is named after Artemis, the goddess of hunting and the moon in Greek mythology. Artemis was the twin of Apollo, the god of light. The Apollo program was NASA’s first mission to land on the moon. The Orion spacecraft is named after Orion, a handsome and energetic hunter in Greek mythology. He was a giant who could walk through the sea and on its surface. In one myth, Artemis set Orion in the sky as a constellation after his death. Orion the Hunter, is a brilliant constellation that includes two of the brightest stars in the sky.

The mission is set to send Orion beyond the moon, launching it into orbit around the moon, before returning to Earth. Orion will travel 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) over the course of 42 days while orbiting the moon. Orion’s return to Earth will be the fastest and hottest planned spacecraft return in history. It is expected to land in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California, on Oct. 10. The Orion spacecraft is planned to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and, eventually, to the moon and Mars. The craft is designed to sustain astronauts during a long mission into deep space and return them safely to Earth.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft roll out to the Launch Complex on Aug. 16, 2022, ahead of the scheduled launch of the Artemis 1 mission on Aug. 29, 2022.

Although on this trip, Orion is heading into space without passengers. the Orion spacecraft has many advanced features to support an astronaut crew on an extended mission into space. These features include unique systems for propulsion and flight control. Astronauts will be carried in Orion’s Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). The CEV is equipped with advanced heat shields to withstand the temperatures generated by the high velocities required to launch the craft into deep space and to reenter Earth’s atmosphere upon return. Orion cannot make it to space on its own, it requires a push from a heavy-lift rocket. That is where the Space Launch System (SLS) helps out. The SLS uses solid-fuel rocket boosters to carry heavy loads into space. The SLS is the most powerful rocket ever built for launching a space exploration vehicle. 

The first successful unpiloted test flight of the Orion spacecraft took place in 2014. The Orion CEV was launched on an older model Delta IV heavy rocket and orbited Earth twice before it splashed down and was recovered in the Pacific Ocean. A second test flight, in 2018, also used the Delta IV heavy rocket because of delays in the development of the SLS. Future unpiloted test flights are planned to test various components of the Orion spacecraft. Orion missions with astronauts are expected to take place later, in the 2020’s. The last manned mission to the moon was in 1972 when the Apollo 17 mission completed the longest lunar landing.

This illustration shows an imagined view of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft approaching the asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos. The smaller spacecraft is LICIACube, built by the Italian Space Agency.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins, APL/Steve Gribben

Scientists and engineers have designed spacecraft for many different purposes. Some bring people safely to the moon or the International Space Station. Others roam far into space to send pictures back to Earth for scientists to study. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) built the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) as a punching bag! DART was a spacecraft that intentionally collided with an asteroid.

Scientists planned the mission to find out whether a spacecraft collision could change an asteroid’s path through space. DART’s target asteroid was not a threat to Earth. But in the future, this method could be used to redirect a threatening asteroid away from Earth. Scientists are studying the effects of the DART impact to determine how the collision affected the asteroid’s path.

DART was a type of spacecraft called an impactor. An impactor smashes into the target it is studying, such as a planet, moon, or asteroid. Usually, scientists study the effects of the impact to learn about the physical characteristics of the target. Because DART was designed to move its target, it is considered a kinetic impactor.

DART traveled to Didymos, an asteroid that is about ½ mile (780 meters) wide. Didymos has a moonlet—a second, tiny asteroid in orbit around it—called Dimorphos. Dimorphos is sometimes nicknamed “Didymoon.” Dimorphos is 525 feet (160 meters) wide. Pairs of asteroids such as this one are known as binary systems. Scientists think about 15 percent of the asteroids closest to Earth are part of a binary system. Didymos and Dimorphos were chosen for the DART mission because their position is practical for a spacecraft to reach and because changes to Dimorphos’s orbit can be measured from Earth.

On Sep. 26, 2022, DART smashed into Dimorphos at a speed of 4.1 miles (6.6 kilometers) per second. Telescopes on Earth observed a bright flash at the moment of impact. Before the impact, Dimorphos orbited Didymos once every 11 hours and 55 minutes. The impact was expected to shorten this period and to move Dimorphos slightly closer to Didymos.

DART carried only one instrument, a camera. The camera helped it to steer automatically toward its target. DART also carried a shoebox-sized spacecraft called LICIACube. DART released LICIACube before it impacts Dimorphos. LICIACube photographed the impact test and its aftermath.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched DART on Nov. 24, 2021. The mission was sponsored by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) built LICIACube. It is Italy’s first deep space probe.

James Webb Space Telescope image of NGC 3324
Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

The first images from the James Webb Space Telescope have arrived! They are starry, stellar, and dazzling images of never before seen nebulae and star-forming regions of the universe. The images are quite the upgrade from the images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing deep space in exquisite detail. U.S. President Joe Biden released the first images on Monday, June 11, 2022.

The James Webb Space Telescope was successfully launched into space atop an Ariane 5 rocket on Dec. 25, 2021. The James Webb Space Telescope, abbreviated JWST, is an observatory replacing some capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope is a powerful orbiting telescope that provides sharp images of heavenly bodies. Webb’s main mirror is 6.5 meters (21 feet) across. Webb will have about seven times larger light-collecting area than Hubble. However, Webb is designed to study infrared light, a type of light wave with longer wavelengths than those of visible light. Thus, Webb will not replace Hubble’s visible light capabilities.

Webb is a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The Space Telescope Science Institute, which currently operates Hubble, is managing Webb’s science operations. The telescope is named after James Webb, the former NASA administrator who conceived and directed the Apollo program for most of the 1960’s. Webb has been a work in progress since 1996 and its deployment was delayed many times over the years.

The Webb telescope will enable scientists to study the history of the universe, nearly all the way back to a cosmic explosion called the big bang. It will collect information on the first stars and galaxies that formed after the big bang, the formation of planetary systems, and the evolution of planets within the solar system.

Southern Ring Nebula
Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

The first images NASA released show a star-forming region in the Milky Way called the Carina Nebula captured in infrared light. A nebula is a cloud of dust particles and gases in space. The term nebula comes from the Latin word for cloud. Other images show the Southern Ring Nebula in near-infrared light and mid-infrared light. This image shows the remains of a white dwarf star, similar to our Sun.

Webb is equipped with several specialized cameras and spectrometers, instruments that spread out light into a band of wavelengths called a spectrum. Astronomers can study such a spectrum for signs of light given off by certain molecules or atoms. Webb also has a primary (main) mirror made of many segments, which was folded up to fit in the launch rocket. The mirror is to unfold and adjust to its proper shape before Webb reaches its permanent orbit. A large sun shield, about the size of a tennis court, will help prevent the infrared light from the sun, and the reflected sunlight from Earth and the moon, from interfering with observations. Webb is specifically designed to cool down its sensors to gather better data.

After launch, Webb traveled to a Lagrange point, a special point in space where the gravitational pulls of the sun and Earth are in balance. Webb is to remain there, 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth, observing the skies for up to 10 years. During its primary mission, Webb is designed to be the world’s premier space observatory, used by thousands of astronomers worldwide.

Jessica Watkins
Credit: NASA

American astronaut and geologist Jessica Watkins is making history this month. She is the first Black woman selected for an extended mission in space. Watkins and three other astronauts launched aboard a new SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom atop a Falcon 9 rocket on April 27, 2022. Once the crew arrives, they will work and live aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is a large, inhabited Earth satellite that more than 15 nations are operating in space. Watkins is set to work aboard the station for six months. On the ISS, she will work at the microgravity laboratory and serve as the team’s mission specialist.

Jessica Andrea Watkins was born in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on May 14, 1988. Her family later moved to Lafayette, Colorado. She enrolled at Stanford University in California, in 2006.  Watkins led Stanford’s rugby team to win the 2008 national championship. Watkins was a member of the United States Women’s Eagles Sevens Rugby team, competing in the 2009 Women’s Sevens Rugby World Cup in Dubai. Watkins earned her bachelor’s degree in geological and environmental sciences from Stanford University in 2010.

Watkins studied and worked extremely hard to reach her new career in space. Watkins earned a doctorate degree in geology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2015. Watkins conducted post-doctoral research at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). At UCLA, she studied landslides on Mars. At Caltech, she helped plan missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Curiosity rover.

As an undergraduate, Watkins participated in an internship for NASA at the Ames Research Center outside of San Jose, California. She compared simulated Martian soils with data gathered by the Phoenix Mars Lander.  In 2009, Watkins served as the chief geologist for a simulated mission at the Mars Desert Research Station outside of Hanksville, Utah. As a graduate student, she interned for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In 2017, Watkins was selected for astronaut training. In 2019, Watkins participated as an aquanaut in a simulated space mission at the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) Aquarius habitat, on the ocean floor off the coast of Key Largo, Florida. NASA has also selected Watkins as a crew member for the Artemis mission to the moon’s surface.