Our guest in this episode is Director Vanessa Wyche from the NASA Johnson Space Center. Wyche is a dual alumna of Clemson University, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering. She began her career at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and eventually found her way to NASA in 1989. At NASA, Vanessa has served in different positions, like Project Manager within the Space and Life Science Directorate. In this role, Wyche applied her engineering background towards developing and using hardware systems for medical and microgravity experiments on the space shuttle and the International Space Station. Today, Director Wyche serves as the thirteenth Director of NASA Johnson Space Center, a position she has held since June of 2021.  

In this episode, we talk about how Vanessa grew up in South Carolina as a curious young girl. Director Wyche shares how her biology teacher introduced her to engineering. We discuss the importance of community, role models, and balancing life as a professional, mom, and wife. Finally, Director Wyche talks about Artemis One and what she is excited about with space exploration.

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