Jessica Meir was born July 1, 1977 in Caribou, Maine to parents of Iraqi-Jewish and Swedish descent. She developed an interest in space exploration at a young age while watching televised space shuttle missions. She studied biology at Brown University before receiving a master’s degree in space studies from the International Space University and a doctorate in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In the early 2000s, Meir studied human physiology at Lockheed Martin Space Operations Human Research Facility and became an aquanaut aboard the Aquarius laboratory for the NASA-NOAA Extreme Environment Mission Operations. She was also one of eight candidates chosen for NASA Astronaut Group 21. By the late 2010s, Meir served as mission control capsule communicator for International Space Station missions. In 2019, she boarded the International Space Station as flight engineer for Expeditions 61 and 62. It was during Expedition 61 that she participated in the first all-female spacewalk with her colleague Christina Koch. Meir returned to Earth in April 2020 after 205 days in space and 3,280 orbits around Earth.
Inducted in 2023.
Portrait Location: Hall of Fame Hallway

Induction Video