“Complex issues have to be considered from different perspectives”

Interview: Miriam Hoffmeyer

Ms Wilt, you have a job that would doubtless make many people envious: you work for NASA, where you are involved in various aspects of space research. What does your everyday work look like?

Grier Wilt: Different every day: since 2022, I’ve been one of the CapComs who take turns communicating directly with astronauts in space in Houston. On the days when I am on duty I wake up the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) and transmit instructions from ground control. Most of the CapComs are experienced astronauts like Alexander Gerst. On other days I plan spacewalks on the ISS or train international astronauts. All ISS crew members have to carry out repairs or experiments outboard: they move along handrails and work alternately in total darkness and blindingly bright light while the ISS orbits the Earth at 28,000 kilometres per hour. I prepare them for these tasks. We train partly virtually and partly on a model of the ISS in an indoor pool the size of a soccer pitch. As part of the Artemis missions I am also training the team that is due to land on the Moon, for example in handling a new type of lunar vehicle. So I never get bored!

From 2019 to 2021 you were Deputy Director of NASA Operations at the Y.A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow. What experiences did you have there?

I didn’t get to see much of normal life in Russia on the closed-off site, partly because of the coronavirus restrictions at the time. I thought it was very cool that the widow of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, lived right next door to me. And the good team spirit in our international team was a great experience. I think cross-border cooperation in science and technology is crucial because complex issues have to be considered from different perspectives. I realised this for the first time when I was in Germany in 2007. At the time, I was a bachelor’s student in Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University (PSU) and, thanks to a DAAD RISE scholarship, was able to do a three-month research internship at the University of Freiburg. This was my first longer experience abroad and I really grew from it! I had many exciting discussions with interesting people, not only about science, but also about politics. This motivated me to do a second bachelor’s degree in International Studies at PSU and to gain further experience abroad in Australia and Morocco.

You then completed your master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle and were hired by NASA shortly after graduating in 2013. Did you always want to work there?

Yes, I did my first NASA internship in high school. But my enthusiasm for space came even earlier: I remember when I was five years old, my father brought home a shiny telescope. We lived in rural Pennsylvania, where the starry sky is easy to observe. I want to go up there, I said – and my father replied: Then you have to become an astronaut. My parents had a lot of confidence in me and were very supportive. But they didn’t have the money for additional education. I am very glad that there is the free community education programme “Saturday Science”. It opened up the world of science to me: we threw coconuts off the roof to understand gravitational acceleration, extracted DNA from vegetables and also solved difficult equations – and had a lot of fun in the process.

Why are such hands-on educational programmes important?

They not only get children excited about science and technology, but also teach them the skills needed to tackle problems independently. This gives children – especially girls – the self-confidence they need to study STEM subjects. I have been involved in various NGOs to promote the potential of children, including as a mentor with “Big Brothers Big Sisters of America”. And I also regularly give talks in schools to get children and young people interested in science and technology.

And do you still want to fly into space?

You bet! My application process to become an astronaut is underway, hopefully it works.

Learn more about Grier Wilt’s work as a NASA instructor.