From Analog Astronaut to Spacecraft Pilot with Astronaut Sian Proctor

Kathy Sullivan Explores

Dr. Sian Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist and poet, and astronaut. She was a finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Selection Program and, in 2021, served as the mission pilot for the SpaceX-operated, all-civilian orbital mission, Inspiration4. She is an analog astronaut who has completed four analog missions and was one of the all-women participants of the SENSORIA Mars 2020 analog mission at the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog Simulation Habitat. An esteemed science communicator and educator, Sian worked as a geology professor for over 21 years before her career as an astronaut, teaching sustainability and planetary science at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. She is also a continuing NASA Solar System Ambassador and currently serves as the Open Educations Resource Coordinator for the Maricopa Community College District, as well as a member of the Explore Mars Board of Directors and the National Science Teaching Association’s Aerospace Advisory Board.

Sian joins me today to share her journey from teaching geology at a community college and being an analog astronaut to becoming a spacecraft pilot for SpaceX’s Inspiration4. You’ll hear about her early life and how her interests as a child shaped her path to being a pilot and astronaut. She explains how working as a geology professor in a community college led her to become a finalist in NASA’s 2009 astronaut selection program. She also shares her vision for the future of commercial spaceflight and underscores what it means to live life through an explorer’s lens.

“I didn’t need to discover something new for humanity—as long as I was discovering something new for myself, I was an explorer.” - Sian Proctor

This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:

● What it was like for Sian to watch SpaceX’s launch of Crew-5

● Sian’s upbringing and early life in Guam

● Why Neil Armstrong stopped signing autographs

● Where Sian’s early passion for flight and aviation came from

● Her experience studying Environmental Science at Edinboro University and why she decided to go to graduate school

● Sian’s journey to Arizona State University for graduate school

● What an “analog” astronaut is and Sian’s path to becoming one

● What meals on Mars would look like

● Becoming a space artist and poet and the story behind Sian’s selection into SpaceX’s Inspiration4

● How Sian trained for Inspiration4 and her responsibilities as a mission pilot

● The future of private spaceflight and what will drive commercial space exploration

Our Favorite Quotes:

● “Women working together—to talk about exploration and how you can do amazing things right here on earth—make a difference for themselves, the people around them, and the planet.”- Sian Proctor

● “In my entire life, I felt like I was chasing space. It was no formal plan, but more like exploring here and there until, one day, I flipped one rock and finally found it.” - Sian Proctor

Connect with Sian Proctor:

● Dr. Sian Proctor Website

● Email: [email protected]

● Dr. Sian Proctor on Instagram

● Dr. Sian Proctor on Facebook

● Dr. Sian Proctor on Twitter

Spaceship Not Required

I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.

I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.

In this podcast, you can explore, reflecting on lessons learned from life so far and from my brilliant and ever-inquisitive guests. We explore together in this very moment from right where you are--spaceship not required.

Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.

Visit my website at kathysullivanexplores.com to sign up for seven astronaut tips to improving your life on earth and be the first to discover future episodes and learn about more exciting adventures ahead!

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