Could 1st woman on the moon be from Richland? New astronaut calls Tri-Cities home

A 2006 Richland High graduate will become an astronaut in a few weeks, with possible chances to go to the Moon or even Mars.

Kayla Barron, who calls Richland her hometown, is among the class of astronaut candidates who will graduate under NASA’s Artemis program Jan. 10.

She was among 11 National Academy of Space Administration candidates selected for the two-year training from among more than 18,000 applicants.

After graduation she will be eligible for spaceflight, including assignment to the International Space Station.

She could be the first woman to land on the moon, given the Artemis program’s goal to put a woman and a man on the moon by 2024.

Innovative technologies will be used to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before and sustainable exploration is planned by 2028.

The next giant leap for the program Barron is part of will be using what is learned on and around the Moon to send astronauts to Mars.

Barron became interested in working for NASA as she worked at the Naval Academy, meeting graduates who served in the astronaut office, she told the Herald when she started her NASA training.

Submarine officer to astronaut

She has continued to serve as a U.S. Navy lieutenant while training to be an astronaut.

The daughter of Scott and Lauri Sax of the Tri-Cities, she graduated from the Naval Academy with a systems engineering degree and also has a nuclear engineering masters.

She was in the first class of women commissioned to be a submarine officer and completed three strategic deterrent patrols aboard the USS Maine submarine.

“I was lucky enough to be part of the Navy team that operates in confined spaces with limited resources in the hostile environment of the ocean,” she said when she was selected in 2017 for training.

“I think there are definitely a few parallels with what our astronauts are doing on the space stations and what we’ll need to do to learn how to be successful on long-duration deep space exploration missions,” she said.

The graduation ceremony for the 11 NASA candidates and two Canadian space Agency candidates who have trained alongside them will be aired live on NASA TV and on the agency’s website at nasa.gov/live.

The ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston starts at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time Jan. 10.

This story was originally published December 21, 2019 at 7:00 AM.