As humanity reaches for the stars with renewed force, Jessica Meir is one of the leading astronauts at the forefront of our cosmic ambitions.
Born in Maine to a Swedish mother and a Jewish-Israeli father, Meir fell in love with space at a very young age and has been collaborating with the NASA.
Since then, she has made history as a successful astronaut, participating in the first spacewalk by a woman.
Throughout this time, Meir has made no secret of her closeness to Judaism and Israel, proudly displaying her Jewishness and ties to Israel on social media and carrying an Israeli flag, socks with the Star of David, a commemorative coin into space in honor of the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon and other related items.
“Israel is a very important part of me,” he has said.
Two years ago, while on the International Space Station, Meir posted on Twitter a photo of Tel Aviv which he took from space, in which the usually bustling Israeli city looks desolate amid the spread of the coronavirus.
“Looking at the city where my father grew up, I take to heart one of his most pronounced expressions: “This too shall pass”. Wise words to remember, both in good and bad times. Good evening #TelAviv #Israel! #BuenasNightsDelEspacio #ElViaje #TierraFuerte ”, he then tweeted.
Jessica Meir wants to be the first woman to land on the moon
But Meir has bigger dreams ahead of her: She wants to go to the Moon. And that otherworldly goal might not be beyond his reach.
Interest in space travel has never been greater, as technological innovations make space more accessible than ever. And while NASA is no stranger to the Moon, having made several moon landings in the ’60s and ’70s, there haven’t been any since.
NASA is preparing to return to its long-awaited Artemis missions, with the third mission, Artemis III, tentatively scheduled for 2025 and which will send an astronaut to the lunar surface. And specifically, NASA has already made it clear that it wants a woman for the position, and Meir is among the candidates for the historic honor.
“I wanted to be an astronaut at the age of five. I grew up watching space shuttle launches,” she said in January 2022, as a special guest at the Israeli Space Agency’s Israel Space Week, adding that returning to the Moon, especially as the first woman, would be the culmination of a childhood dream.
But even if she isn’t chosen, Meir said she still hopes to play a role in this historic moment and is sure she has a place in the future of space exploration.
