Two Washingtonians could be among first women to walk on the moon
Dec 11, 2020, 11:59 AM
Kayla Barron (left) and Anne McClain (right). (Photos courtesy of NASA)
(Photos courtesy of NASA)
Two Washington natives are part of NASA’s next mission to the moon, and they’re in the running to be the first woman to walk on the lunar surface.
Anne McClain of Spokane and Kayla Barron of Richland are among 18 astronauts on the moon mission, known as Artemis.
McClain was asked about the possibility of becoming the first woman on the moon.
“Right now, what I know is that I’m either going to walk on the moon or one of my friends is going to walk on the moon. And both of those scenarios are beyond my wildest dreams when I was a kid,” McClain said.
McClain was selected to be a NASA astronaut candidate in 2013, after graduating from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
“This crew at NASA is a group of doers. We are dreamers, but even more so, we are doers,” McClain said. “In order to do, you need to face those fears, face those doubts and move forward.”
You can follow McClain on Twitter here or read her full profile on NASA’s website here.
Barron was chose as a NASA astronaut candidate in 2017 after serving as the Flag Aide to the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. She attended the U.S. Naval Academy to earn a bachelor degree in Systems Engineering. She earned her Master’s in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Cambridge.
“I think it changes all of us to know that we can actually do things that would be unimaginable to the generations that came before us,” Barron said in her video profile.
You can follow Barron on Instagram here, Facebook here, or read her full profile on NASA’s website here.
Artemis aims to return humans to the moon’s surface for the first time since the end of Apollo program nearly 50 years ago.
KIRO Radio’s Aaron Granillo contributed to this report.
