// SPACE.COM — SPAZIO & SCIENZA
Private astronaut Kellie Gerardi gets real about motherhood as she prepares to fly to space again
"I think motherhood eventually has to become a bigger part of the conversation if we're serious when we talk about humanity having a sustained presence beyond Earth."
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Kellie Gerardi is preparing for her second spaceflight. And the secret tool up her sleeve? Motherhood.
Nearly three years ago, space researcher, online STEM creator and author Kellie Gerardi flew to suborbital space on a Virgin Galactic tourist flight. With this flight, she not only became a private astronaut, but one of the first 100 women to fly to space. Today, she's preparing to leave Earth once again with her second flight. And as Gerardi prepares to fly and conduct new research in microgravity, she sat down with Space.com to discuss space, motherhood and how much we have left to learn.
"I think motherhood eventually has to become a bigger part of the conversation if we're serious when we talk about humanity having a sustained presence beyond Earth," Gerardi told Space.com. "If we're talking about people living and working in space for longer periods, then reproductive health, pregnancy, postpartum physiology, childcare, and family life aren't just peripheral issues anymore."
Gerardi has been a serious player and public figure in the space industry for a number of years. From overseeing mission operations at Palantir Technologies to working as a payload specialist and bioastronautics researcher for the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS), she has been conducting experiments in microgravity and working across the industry for quite some time. And over the years, she has also developed an expansive online community with whom she shares STEM videos and content about her daily life.
But while Gerardi has posted a number of fun-loving videos with her two daughters, she doesn't just share the big wins and highlights. Across social media platforms, she has also been incredibly candid with the public about her struggles with motherhood, loss, infertility and IVF (in-vitro fertilization). Among her videos discussing her life as an astronaut and researcher, she has shared incredibly personal details, bringing the public along with her as she undergoes incredibly challenging moments.
"I just remember thinking about how so many of us navigate this entire fertility odyssey invisibly while handling their careers, their families, and everything else, and I just wanted to make that a little more visible and hopefully destigmatize the topic a little bit," Gerardi shared.
"Science teaches you that a disappointing result is information, not identity. You look at the data, change variables, adjust the protocol, and try again. That doesn't mean I was able to intellectualize my way out of grief, but I do feel like I was able to borrow a little bit of the same mindset when it came time to put one foot in front of the other again, and to try to look a bit more dispassionately at the odds and our options going forward," she added.
As Gerardi prepares to return to space with her second Virgin Galactic flight, she is part of the "Mom, and More" campaign from the brand Momcozy. The campaign, which also includes Olympian Allyson Felix and Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, "celebrates the idea that motherhood can expand what's possible for us while still leaving room for all the other passions or ambitions that make us who we are," Gerardi said.