ARIZONA, USA — Two women with Arizona ties have proven they have the “right stuff” after being chosen to train with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Christina Birch, 35, and Jessica Wittner, 38, were chosen from a field of more than 12,000 applicants to represent the United States in space.
Birch grew up in Gilbert, Ariz., and graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biophysics.
After earning a doctorate in biological engineering from MIT, she taught bioengineering at the University of California, Riverside, and scientific writing and communication at the California Institute of Technology. Birch is also a track cyclist on the U.S. National Team.
Wittner, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, is a native of California who is currently serving on active duty as a naval aviator and test pilot.
Wittner holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Arizona, and a master's degree in aerospace engineering.
Wittner has flown F/A-18 fighter jets with Strike Fighter Squadron 34 in Virginia and California. She is a graduate of U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and has also worked as a test pilot and project officer with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 in California.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the 10 new astronaut candidates, the first in four years, during an event Monday near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA officials said the astronaut candidates will begin training in January 2022. When they are done, they could be on missions aboard the space station, deep space missions or even trips to the moon on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.
Another famous astronaut with Arizona ties is U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly.
According to his website, Kelly was selected as an astronaut in 1996 in the same class as his twin brother Scott. He flew his first of four missions into space in 2001 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, the same space shuttle he commanded on its final flight in May 2011.
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