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Sian Proctor

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Sian Hayley Proctor
Proctor in 2021
Born(1970-03-28)28 March 1970(age 54)
Hagåtña, Guam[1]
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Geology professor, and science communicator
Known for
Academic background
Education
ThesisCognitive process strategies and performance on a contour map memory test(2006)
Doctoral advisorSarah K. Brem
Academic work
DisciplineGeology and Science education
InstitutionsSouth Mountain Community College
Space career
Commercial astronaut
Crew Dragonpilot
Time in space
2d 23h 3m
MissionsInspiration4
Websitedrsianproctor

Sian Hayley"Leo"Proctor(28 March 1970,Hagåtña, Guam) is an Americancommercial astronaut,geology professor, artist, author, and science communicator. She became the first female commercial spaceship pilot on the all-civilianInspiration4orbital spaceflight,15 September 2021.[2][3][4]As pilot of the Inspiration4'sSpaceX Crew Dragonspace capsule,Proctor became the first African-American woman to pilot a spacecraft.[5]She was also the education outreach officer for the firstHawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation(HI-SEAS)Mission.[6]

Post-Inspiration4, Sian Proctor has become a notedAfrofuturistartist, poet and author.[7][8][9]Proctor is the first African American astronaut to paint in space.[10]

Proctor is a major in theCivil Air Patrolwhere she serves as the aerospace education officer for its Arizona Wing.[11]

Life and education

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Sian Proctor was born on 28 March 1970, in Hagåtña, Guam, to Edward Langley Proctor Jr. and Gloria Deloris. Her father was aSperry CorporationUNIVACengineer working for NASA at theGuam Remote Ground Terminalduring theApolloera.[12]She is the youngest of four children, with two brothers, Edward Langley Proctor III and Christopher Proctor, and sister Robyn Selent. After the Moon landings, Proctor's family moved to Minnesota and later to various Northeastern states while her father changed jobs. Her family moved to Fairport, New York, when she was 14 where she later graduated fromFairport High School.[13][14]

She studied atArizona State University,where she received an undergraduate degree on environmental sciences and later a masters degree in Geology in 1998. In 2006 she obtained a PhD in Science education.[15]That same year, Proctor got her pilot's license.[16]

She is a member of theAssociation of Space Explorers.Furthermore in December 2022 she was selected as a member of theNational Space Council’s Users Advisory Group.[17][18]As part of her training as pilot of the Inspiration4 flight, she trained in aCessna CitationJetCJ3[19]and (under the tutelage of veteran pilot Isaacman) a MiG-29.[20]

In 2022 she received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters fromUniversity of Massachusetts Lowell.[21]

In 2023 she participated in the space campSpace 2101atKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology.[22]

Space career

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2009 NASA Astronaut Selection

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She was a finalist for the2009 NASA AstronautSelection Process. She was one of 47 finalists competing against over 3,500 applicants. Nonetheless, during the final round, she was not one of the nine astronaut candidates selected for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Group.[13]

Inspiration4 crew during their visit to the Johnson Space Center at NASA

Commercial astronaut during the mission Inspiration4

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She was selected as the pilot of theCrew DragonmissionInspiration4,which launched on 15 September 2021. TheProsperityseat, was obtained as she won an entrepreneur competition. During the flight training she received the call signLeo.[23][24][25][26]

She was joined byJared Isaacman,Hayley Arceneaux,andChris Sembroski,for the first all-civilian human spaceflight mission. In August 2021 she is featured on the cover of aTimemagazine double issue with the rest of the crew of Inspiration4.[27][28][29]

Career in science education

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HI-SEAS (2013)

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She acted as education outreach officer for the NASA-funded Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) mission. The purpose of the mission was to investigate food strategies for long duration spaceflight and missions to the Moon or Mars.

During the four-month simulation, Proctor was hired byDiscover Magazineas the photographer for Kate Greene's articleSimulating Mars on Earth.She also filmed theMeals for MarsYouTube series while in the Mars simulation.[30][31][32]

PolarTREC (2014)

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In 2014, she was selected as aPolarTRECteacher, which is a program funded by theNational Science Foundation (NSF)that connects teachers with scientists conducting research in the arctic and Antarctic regions. As part of this program, she spent a month inBarrow, Alaskalearning historical ecology for risk management and investigating the impact of climate change on the coastline and community.[33][34]

Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) (2016)

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In 2016 she was selected as a ACEAP Ambassador. A program from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that sendsK–16formal and informal astronomy educators to US astronomy facilities in Chile. During the summer of 2016, she joined eight other ambassadors as they visitedCerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO),Gemini South Observatory,and theAtacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA).[35]

Proctor returned to San Pedro, Chile in 2017 to engage in STEM education outreach activities with the local high school and surrounding community.

NOAA Teacher at Sea (2017)

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She participated in theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) Teacher at Sea program in 2017. The program was started in 1990 and provides teachers with research experience working at sea. In her case, during three weeks she conductedpollockresearch in the Bering Sea on the fisheries vesselOscar Dysonand detailed her experience for the blog of NOAA.[36]

Science communication

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Photo of astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor holding a microphone and talking on stage during the space camp Space 2101 at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
Sian Proctor during the space camp Space 2101 at theKing Abdullah University of Science and Technologyin 2023

She is an international speaker, communicating about science education, leadership, spacial simulations, sustainable foods and diversity in science. Furthermore, she has given severalTEDx Talks.[31][37][38][39]

Art

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Proctor is a life-long artist, painter, and poet. She is a noted Afrofurist artist, working in digital, multi-media, and painting mediums. Proctor is known for her expressions of connection, source, and the divine that she callsAfroGaia.[40]Following her spaceflight, her work frequently makes reference to and is inspired by the space orbit phenomenon of sunlight reflecting off the Earth and back into space and onto spacecraft and astronauts in orbit known asEarthlight (astronomy).[41]She is an artist-in-residence atArizona State University.[42]While aboard the orbiting Crew Dragon spaceship, she became the first African-American to paint in space.[43]

Appearances in television

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She has made multiple appearances on television.[11][44][45][46]

  • 2010: Season 2 ofThe Colony,a ten episodes show that was filmed in New Orleans.
  • 2012: Appearance in two episodes of the first season ofThe STEM Journals,an educational show for kids interested in science, technology, engineering, and math.
  • 2016: Appearance in episode 2:Are We Aloneof the seriesGenius by Stephen Hawking
  • From 2017 to 2019 she acted as the science demonstrator on theScience ChannelshowStrange Evidence.
  • 2020:Phantom signals.
  • 2021:Ancient unexplained files.
  • 2021:When Big Things Go Wrong,a series for The History Channel which explains the science of disasters.
  • 2021: Participated in the seriesCountdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space.An originalNetflixseries.

References

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  1. ^"Certificate of Birth".Guam Memorial Hospital.
  2. ^Davenport, Christian (15 September 2021)."They 'could be our neighbors,' and they're going to space. SpaceX gets ready to fly the Inspiration4 crew".Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2022.Retrieved17 September2021.
  3. ^Hadfield, Chris.""First Commercial Spaceship Female Pilot"".Twitter.Retrieved12 August2023.
  4. ^Connor, Holly J. (12 October 2021)."Dr. Sian Proctor, the First Black Woman to Pilot a Spacecraft, Makes History:" A Phoenix Rising "".msmagazine.Retrieved14 August2023.
  5. ^Chang, Kenneth (16 September 2021)."Sian Proctor is the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved18 September2021.
  6. ^Proctor, Sian."Doctor Proctor's Space 2 Inspire".p. Home.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2023.Retrieved8 March2023.
  7. ^Reilly, Carly."Dr. Sian Proctor on Afrofuturism, NFTs, Space & More | Overpriced JPEGs".bankless.hq.Bankless.Retrieved14 August2023.
  8. ^"Space2inspire: An Orbital Perspective of Earth as a Geoscientist, Artist, and Poet".National Air & Space Museum.Smithsonian. 18 May 2022.Retrieved14 August2023.
  9. ^"LIVE BID! Seeker, Space-Flown World-Traveling Original Art Piece by Dr. Sian Proctor".charitybuzz.Charitybuzz.Retrieved14 August2023.
  10. ^Prlich, Donna."Impact: Explore 2023 Shows How Planet Data Aims To Change The World".Retrieved14 August2023.
  11. ^abThacker, Dawn (7 February 2012)."Profiles in Strengths: Sian Proctor, Ph.D."South Mountain Community College.Archivedfrom the original on 3 June 2023.Retrieved8 March2023.
  12. ^Mehrotra, Kriti (6 September 2021)."Inspiration4's Dr. Sian Proctor: Everything We Know".The Cinemaholic.Retrieved16 August2023.
  13. ^ab"Dr. Sian Proctor's Transformative Space".Maricopa Community Colleges.p. About the District.Retrieved8 March2023.
  14. ^Drake, Nadia (7 October 2021)."Sian Proctor, first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft, opens up about her journey".National Geographic.pp. Science. Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2021.Retrieved8 March2023.
  15. ^Proctor, Sian Hayley (2006).Cognitive process strategies and performance on a contour map memory test(PhD thesis).Arizona State University.OCLC759870195.ProQuest305357112.
  16. ^Connor, Holly J. (13 October 2021)."Dr. Sian Proctor, The First Black Woman To Pilot A Spacecraft, Makes History:" A Phoenix Rising "".Black EOE Journal.DiversityComm.Retrieved16 August2023.
  17. ^"Association of Space Explorers".Space-explorers.pp. United States.Retrieved8 March2023.
  18. ^The White House (16 December 2022)."Vice President Harris Announces Selections to the National Space Council's Users Advisory Group".whitehouse.gov.Archivedfrom the original on 7 June 2023.Retrieved18 December2022.
  19. ^Kraus, J."Sian Proctor Citation CJ3 jet training".NOIRLab.National Science Foundation.Retrieved16 August2023.
  20. ^@rookisaacman (10 August 2021)."Register"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  21. ^Gowdey-Backus, Emily; Cicco, Nancy (28 April 2022)."National COVID Response Leader, First Black Woman Commercial Astronaut To Address Class of 2022".UMASS Lowell.pp. Press Release.Retrieved8 March2023.
  22. ^"KAUST Space 2101 offers KSA students an 'Out-Of-This-World' STEAM-Learning Experience".Saudi Gazette.Thuwal. 30 January 2023.Retrieved8 March2023.
  23. ^Bardhan, Ashley; Brown, Mike (3 September 2021)."Inspiration4: Why it's going higher than the ISS".Inverse.Archived fromthe originalon 17 September 2021.Retrieved9 March2023.
  24. ^Kan, Michel (16 September 2021)."Inspiration 4 Successfully Blasts Off for the First All-Civilian Orbital Space Flight".PC Magazine.pp. Science & Space.Retrieved9 March2023.
  25. ^Chang, Kenneth (1 February 2021)."To Get on This SpaceX Flight, You Don't Have to Be Rich, Just Lucky".The New York Times.pp. SpaceX's Astronaut Launch. Archived fromthe originalon 1 February 2021.Retrieved9 March2023.
  26. ^Thompson, Amy (15 September 2021)."Inspiration4's call signs: The crew of SpaceX's all-civilian mission have special nicknames".Space.Cape Canaveral. pp. Spaceflight.Retrieved9 March2023.
  27. ^Thompson, Amy (22 October 2021)."Inspiration4 astronaut Sian Proctor reflects on historic SpaceX spaceflight experience".Space.pp. Spaceflight.Retrieved25 January2022.
  28. ^Kluger, Jeffrey (10 August 2021)."Four Civilian Astronauts. Three Days in Orbit. One Giant Leap. Meet the Inspiration4 Crew".Time.pp. Science: Space.Retrieved15 September2021.
  29. ^Kluger, Jeffrey (23 April 2021)."Meet the Inspiration4 Team, the World's First Non-Professional Astronaut Space Crew".Time.pp. Science: Space.Retrieved9 March2023.
  30. ^Greene, Kate (10 May 2013)."What the First Martian Settlers Will Eat (Maybe)".Discover.Archived fromthe originalon 11 July 2013.Retrieved26 May2017.
  31. ^abProctor, Sian (October 2018)."Eat Like a Martian".TED.Tucson Salon.Retrieved9 March2023.
  32. ^Proctor, Sian (2013)."Meals For Mars".YouTube.Retrieved25 January2022.
  33. ^Proctor, Sian (5 February 2014)."Sian Proctor".PolarTREC.p. Member.Retrieved26 May2017.
  34. ^Cornelius, Keridwen (8 December 2018)."Curiosity Rover".Phoenix.pp. People.Retrieved9 March2023.
  35. ^Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (2016)."ACEAP 2016 Ambassadors".Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program.Associated Universities, Inc. p. ACEAP 2016 Ambassadors.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2023.Retrieved10 June2018.
  36. ^Proctor, Sian (2 August 2017)."Sian Proctor: A Fast Farewell!".NOAA Teachers at Sea Blog.Gulf of Alaska. p. Past Seasons.Archivedfrom the original on 7 June 2023.Retrieved25 January2022.
  37. ^Proctor, Sian."International Speaker".p. Appearances.Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2023.Retrieved9 March2023.
  38. ^Proctor, Sian (7 February 2019)."Imposter Syndrome: Overcoming the Voice From Within"(mp4).South Mountain Community Library:TED.Retrieved9 March2023.
  39. ^Proctor, Sian (10 September 2019)."Our Transformative Space".TED.Retrieved9 March2023.
  40. ^Koren, Marina (10 December 2022)."Seeing Earth From Space Will Change You".theatlantic.The Atlantic. Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2023.Retrieved14 August2023.
  41. ^MICHEL, CAROLINA LONDONO (7 June 2021)."1.6 EarthLight".maricopa.edu.Mariposa Community College.
  42. ^Baker, Lori (30 September 2022)."1st Black woman to pilot a US spacecraft lands new position at ASU".asu.edu.
  43. ^Prlich, Donna."Impact: Explore 2023 Shows How Planet Data Aims To Change The World".Retrieved14 August2023.
  44. ^"Are We Alone?".Genius by Stephen Hawking.Episode 2.Retrieved10 June2018.
  45. ^"Strange Evidence".Science Channel.Archived fromthe originalon 12 June 2018.Retrieved10 June2018.
  46. ^Proctor, Sian."Lights, camera, action!".p. On camera personality.Archivedfrom the original on 6 March 2023.Retrieved9 March2023.
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