Jessica Watkins: Meet the first black woman to work on the ISS
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Nasa astronaut Jessica Watkins has made history by becoming the first black woman to head to the International Space Station (ISS).
Watkins is part of a four-person crew on the SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the ISS.
It's Watkins' first trip to space, where she will spend six months carrying out science experiments.
Who is Jessica Watkins?
Jessica Watkins: Meet the first black woman to work on the ISS
Watkins was born in the US state of Maryland but calls Colorado her hometown.
The astronaut studied Geological and Environmental sciences at Stanford University and earned a doctorate in Geology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Geology is the study of the Earth's structure and materials and Watkins says: "My fellow astronauts would describe me as a rock nerd."
Dr Watkins was selected to join the Nasa astronaut candidate class in 2017 and completed two years of training as an astronaut candidate.
Jessica Watkins at the Nasa astronaut graduation ceremony
As part of her preparation to become an astronaut she had flight training, water and wilderness survival training and spacewalks practises.
Most recently, Watkins has been working as part of the science team for Nasa's Mars rover, Curiosity.
When Watkins isn't preparing to head into space she enjoys rugby, basketball, football, skiing, movies and writing.
Making history
Dr Mae Carol Jemison made history when she became the first African American woman to travel into space
Watkins told The New York Times that she hopes to this mission into space will set an "example of ways that they can participate and succeed" for young girls of colour.
Watkins follows many other African Americans who have made history in space.
Guion Bluford, became the first African American to fly in space on a mission in 1983.
The first African American woman to travel into space was Dr Mae Carol Jemison, in 1992.
After that in 1995, Bernard Harris became the first African American to perform a spacewalk.
The mission
Blastoff! The crew were sent to the ISS on a Space X rocket
Watkins has joined Nasa astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Robert Hines, as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on the mission.
The ISS has been orbiting earth for more than 21 years.
The crew will live and work there, conducting science experiments, testing new technologies and doing research that isn't possible on Earth.
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