Jewish World Records emblemJewish World Records
Back to the registry
PersonJewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jessica U. Meir

NASA astronaut, marine biologist and veteran spacewalker; commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission.

United States

Jessica U. Meir

NASA/Josh Valcarcel / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic domain

Biography

Meir, born in Caribou, Maine, in 1977, is a NASA astronaut and marine biologist. Selected in 2013, she first served on Expeditions 61 and 62 and participated in the first all-woman spacewalks. She returned to the International Space Station in 2026 as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission. During Expedition 75 she expanded her spacewalking record to seven EVAs and 49 hours 22 minutes. JTA has documented Meir’s Jewish upbringing and identity, including her bat mitzvah and Jewish family background. NASA astronaut, marine biologist and veteran spacewalker; commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission. In Jewish World Records, Jessica U. Meir is connected to the record “Most Spacewalks by a Jewish Woman,” based on the stored achievement of 7 spacewalks as of 1 September 2026.

Public links

Records held by Jessica U. Meir

Jessica U. Meir in a NASA spacesuit
JWR VerifiedFounding Record
Space / Human Spaceflight / Distancefarthest

Farthest Distance from Earth Reached by a Jewish Woman

Record holder

Jessica U. Meir

Record value

428.9 kilometers

On 27 August 2026, a Cygnus XL reboost raised the International Space Station to an apogee of 266.5 statute miles, approximately 428.9 kilometers. Jessica Meir was aboard the station as part of Expedition 75, so she physically reached that maximum orbital altitude. JWR compares documented apogees on a like-for-like basis rather than mixing average altitude, perigee or launch trajectory values. Earlier missions flown by verified Jewish women were screened, including flights by Marsha Ivins, Judith Resnik and Ellen Baker. Their published maximum orbital values remained below the 2026 ISS apogee. The resulting record is a precise example of how a station reboost can create a new human altitude mark even without a new launch.

Country represented
United States
Achievement location
United States
Achievement date
27 August 2026
View full record