(NewsNation) — Astronaut Kellie Gerardi was recently part of Virgin Galactic’s 10th spaceflight — and now she’s on another mission to show her daughter, and others in her generation, that space is accessible to them, too.
Speaking to NewsNation’s Markie Martin on “Morning in America” Tuesday, Gerardi said the experience was a “lifelong dream” for her.
Gerardi, along with astronauts Dr. Alan Stern and Ketty Pucci-Sisti Maisonrouge, were part of the Galactic 05 mission, where the Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spaceship was converted into a suborbital lab for scientific research. Part of this research involved Gerardi wearing an Astroskin that monitored her glucose levels, and collecting data to help develop future health care technologies in space.
This was Virgin Galactic’s sixth successful space mission in six months, the company said on its website.
“The goal has always been to use space as a laboratory to benefit humanity, something my research institute and I have been working toward,” Gerardi said.
Though she’s had “years” to prepare for her venture into space, Gerardi says it’s still hard to find the words to describe how “precious and profound” her trip was, especially seeing the Earth from space with her own eyes.
“It just took my breath away,” she said.
On her social media, Gerardi tries to normalize the idea that one can be an astronaut or scientist while still being feminine.
“It’s embracing your multitudes,” Gerardi said.
In some of her videos, Gerardi involves her 6-year-old daughter.
“Seeing my journey through her eyes has been probably the most emotional part of all of this for me, because she’s growing up thinking that’s just what moms do,” Gerardi said. “That’s just what girls do.”
Though people tell Gerardi her daughter must be amazed that her mom’s an astronaut, the reality is even better than that to her.
“She just thinks it’s so normal,” Gerardi said. “Not even the sky’s the limit — that’s really something that’s so meaningful for me to be able to demonstrate to her.”
For Gerardi, going to space was a dream more than a decade in the making. To show others they can do the same, she’s written books, including “Not Necessarily Rocket Science: A Beginner’s Guide to Life in the Space Age” and a children’s book called “Luna Muna” which she co-authored with Allyson Wilson.
“I’ve always believed that the limiter to spaceflight was access and not aptitude, and I’m so excited for their generation to see the number of people who get access to space soar, especially for researchers and the scientific community,” Gerardi said.