A Conversation With Four Women Trailblazers at Johnson
Every day, women from diverse backgrounds and roles are making history at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Get to know these four incredible women who are contributing to groundbreaking projects in areas of science, engineering, program policy, and more.
Read ahead to learn more about the initiatives they are looking forward to and what drives them.
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Mejean Cline, Software Engineer and Configuration Management Analyst
Mejean works on the Station Support Computing team, which updates and supports all of the computer systems on the International Space Station.
She has a B.S. in computer engineering from the University of Houston. Growing up, she loved everything about technology and space but put off attending school to focus on making ends meet. Motherhood inspired Mejean to pursue her lifelong dream of being a part of NASA. Now, her message to women is, "Being a mom, having kids, having a family, doesn’t make you any less. In a sense, it makes you even more equipped.”
What is the most exciting part about your job?
The most exciting part of my job is being a part of the ISS Program. I have been in love with space exploration since I was a child, and I was always someone who wanted to understand how everything works. To have inside experience with the inner workings of software and equipment that is bound for the International Space Station and to see my own work contribute to that is something that excites me every day!
What motivates you?
The people around me motivate me the most. My family, friends, and my wonderful colleagues who have become friends and family. They make me want to put my best foot forward in everything I do so I will make them proud.
What is a current project that you are looking forward to?
I am looking forward to our coming advances in automation! I have been here almost five years, and I have already seen the strides we have made to improve our system and our processes. I can see places where we can further streamline system builds and software development, and I can’t wait to see it realized!
Favorite podcast?
My favorite podcast is “In Search of Black History with Bonnie Greer.” It is a beautifully emotional and informative listen!
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Dr. Diane Craig Davis, Mission Design Lead for Gateway Systems Engineering and Integration
Dr. Davis is an astrodynamicist in the Flight Mechanics and Trajectory Design branch. Currently, she designs spacecraft orbits with the Gateway Mission Design team at Johnson.
She is an expert on Gateway’s trajectory and can answer any questions pertaining to the spacecraft’s orbit. Dr. Davis previously worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, navigating spacecraft to Mars and performing ground-based radiometric orbit determination.
What is the most exciting part about your job?
Identifying and solving the new challenges associated with the complicated cislunar dynamical regime is incredibly exciting. The Gateway orbit is really interesting; simultaneously affected by the Earth and the Moon, our near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) serves as an efficient staging location for missions to both the lunar surface and beyond cislunar space. I’m lucky to work with a fantastic team, and collaborating to uncover the secrets of NRHO dynamics is always fascinating, motivating, and a ton of fun. I’m excited to see the Gateway serve as the jumping-off point as our astronauts explore beyond Earth orbit.
What motivates you?
I’m motivated by finding patterns and solving puzzles, by getting to the bottom of mysteries, and by following unexpected paths to their roots and to new understanding. I’m motivated by spaceflight- we’ve barely scratched the surface of exploration. The better we understand the dynamics of bodies in the solar system, the better we’ll be able to get from one place to another, no matter where in space we are trying to go. I’m motivated by contributing to that knowledge and understanding.
What is a current project that you are looking forward to?
I am looking forward to the launch of the first Gateway elements, the Power and Propulsion Element, and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost, and seeing their low-thrust transit to the Moon via solar electric propulsion.
Favorite book?
The Lord of the Rings is my favorite book.
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Dr. Sara R. Zwart, Deputy Manager for Nutritional Biochemistry Human Health and Performance
Dr. Zwart joined the Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory in 2003. The group is charged with optimizing nutrition to improve astronaut health and safety on extended-duration space missions. To that end, operational activities include the evaluation of crew nutritional status before, during, and after flight, as well as conducting research to better understand the role of nutrition in human health during exposure to microgravity. Dr. Zwart has researched the effects of spaceflight on bone and muscle loss, iron metabolism, and ocular changes in astronauts. She has also led research efforts to understand the role of nutrition in ground-based analog studies – used to simulate aspects of space travel – including rotating cell culture, long-duration bed rest, undersea missions, and Antarctic winters.
Dr. Zwart received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Florida. She, her husband, and four children live in the Clear Lake area.
What is the most exciting part about your job?
The most exciting part of my job is definitely when I get to look at data from our research studies. It’s exciting to piece together the data at the end of a study, almost like putting a jigsaw puzzle together because there are so many pieces. The fun part is then to figure out how these pieces fit together and what picture the data tells us in the end. I’m motivated by the amazing team of people around me, and by our operations and research work that is ultimately focused on keeping astronauts healthy in space.
What is a current project that you are looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to our new flight study, Flight B Complex, which will fly later this year. The concept of the study is based on over ten years of research, and we will be testing a countermeasure for spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome in astronauts.
What motivates you?
I’m motivated by the amazing team of people around me, and by our operations and research work that is ultimately focused on keeping astronauts healthy in space.
Favorite free-time activity?
Spending time with my family, wool felting, and working with silver metal clay.
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Lara Kearney, Manager of Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program
Ms. Kearney is responsible for the implementation of the program’s goals and objectives, ensuring consistency with the agency’s exploration strategy and delivering the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) and Human Surface Mobility (HSM) systems within technical and programmatic requirements.
She is responsible for the day-to-day management of the program, including recommending and implementing program policy and directing the program’s development, testing, certification, production, integration, and operations activities. She manages NASA, contractor, private industry, and international partner contributions throughout the program’s life cycle life, ensuring programmatic and technical integration of the EVA and HSM capabilities across ISS and Artemis EVA, the Lunar Terrain Vehicle, and the Pressurized Rover. Ms. Kearney has over thirty years of experience building and operating human spaceflight hardware. She has hands-on experience in every phase of the flight hardware process, from hardware proof of concept and preliminary design through testing, certification, production, and flight operations.
Ms. Kearney has a B.S. and an M.E., both in Biomedical Engineering, from Texas A&M University, and an Executive MBA from the Naval Postgraduate School. She is the recipient of the NASA’s Spaceflight Awareness Leadership Award, Silver Snoopy Award and Outstanding Leadership Medal, as well as the Presidential Rank Award and the 2022 NASA Federal Engineer of the Year Award.
What is the most exciting part about your job?
I really love being a part of something big and bold, and something that benefits all of humankind. It’s exciting to know that we are doing things that no one else in the world is doing, and that we are inspiring a lot of people to join us in our quest to return humans to the Moon in a sustainable way.
What motivates you?
I love leading high-performing teams that are doing great things. I’m motivated by the energy that comes from being physically together and solving difficult problems, and by the satisfaction I get from knocking down barriers and helping the team be successful.
What is a current project that you are looking forward to?
It’s difficult to pick just one. I’m amazed by the awesome work that our ISS EVA team does every day and how they make spacewalking look so easy (when I know it’s really not). I’m really looking forward to seeing our new spacesuit contractors, Axiom and Collins, develop and fly new EVA spacesuits. I’m also looking forward to awarding our Lunar Terrain Vehicle contract and to solidifying the plans and requirements for the Pressurized Rover.
Favorite book or podcast?
I like anything by Simon Sinek. He’s awesome and I can directly relate his recommendations to life both at home and at work.
Favorite free-time activity?
My number one free-time activity is definitely spending time with my family. I also enjoy personal fitness and following college sports.