Aerospace and mechanical engineering alum Jessica Wittner became one of NASA’s newest astronauts at a graduation ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 5. Wittner is now one of only 360 astronauts ever trained by NASA. Her class of 10 was selected in 2021 from a pool of 12,000 applicants.

She was an aviation mechanic with the U.S. Navy prior to earning a BS from the University of Arizona in 2009. Wittner then completed a master’s at from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. She became a test pilot and project officer and served on engineering teams in development and flight tests for the F/A-18E-F Super Hornet.

NASA has yet to assign individual missions. Wittner’s work could range from conducting research aboard the International Space Station to launching commercial spacecraft or deep-space missions to destinations including the moon.

“I would love to go to the moon,” she said. “That’s like the next frontier right now. We know what questions need to be answered.”