Mission Briefing Center
Learn more about the history of space exploration through the experiences of its female workforce in celebration of Women’s History Month.
Jennifer Ross-Nazzal
Space Content Research Manager at Space Center Houston
Jennifer Ross‑Nazzal has spent her career uncovering the human stories behind America’s journey into space. For twenty‑five years, she served as an historian at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, capturing the experiences of astronauts, engineers, flight controllers, and the many people who shaped human spaceflight. She is now the Space Content Research Manager at Space Center Houston, continuing her work connecting the public with the past, present, and future of exploration.
Jennifer is widely recognized for her expertise in NASA history and women’s history. She has interviewed five of the six women first selected as astronauts in 1978—including Sally Ride, who she’ll be talking about. Her essay on these pioneering women, “You’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe: The First Six Women Astronauts and the Media,” was praised as a fascinating, in‑depth look at how the first group of NASA female astronauts handled the sexist media.
Her most recent book, Making Space for Women, explores the history of Johnson Space Center through the experiences of its female workforce and was honored with the Liz Carpenter Award for the Best Book on the History of Women from the Texas State Historical Association.
Through her interviews and writing, Jennifer brings space history to life by illuminating the people who traveled into space and those who made their missions possible.
