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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
Time in space
2d 23h 3m
MissionsInspiration4
Websitedrsianproctor.com

Sian Hayley "Leo" Proctor (28 March 1970, Hagåtña, Guam) is an American commercial astronaut, geology professor, artist, author, and science communicator. She became the first female commercial spaceship pilot on the all-civilian Inspiration4 orbital spaceflight, 15 September 2021.[2][3][4] As pilot of the Inspiration4's SpaceX Crew Dragon space capsule, Proctor became the first African-American woman to pilot a spacecraft.[5] She was also the education outreach officer for the first Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Mission.[6] In 2024, Proctor was selected to be a U.S. Science Envoy for the United States Department of State.[7]

Since Inspiration4, Sian Proctor has become a noted Afrofuturist artist, poet and author.[8][9][10] Proctor is the first African American astronaut to paint in space.[11]

Proctor is a major in the Civil Air Patrol where she serves as the aerospace education officer for its Arizona Wing.[12]

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 a Sperry Corporation UNIVAC engineer working for NASA at the Guam Remote Ground Terminal during the Apollo era.[13] 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 from Fairport High School.[14][15]

She studied at Arizona 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.[16] That same year, Proctor got her pilot's license.[17]

She is a member of the Association of Space Explorers. Furthermore in December 2022 she was selected as a member of the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group.[18][19] As part of her training as pilot of the Inspiration4 flight, she trained in a Cessna CitationJet CJ3[20] and (under the tutelage of veteran pilot Isaacman) a MiG-29.[21]

In 2022 she received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from University of Massachusetts Lowell.[22]

In 2023 she participated in the space camp Space 2101 at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.[23]

Space career

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2009 NASA Astronaut Selection

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Proctor was a finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Selection 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.[14]

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

Inspiration4 mission pilot

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Proctor went to space as a commercial astronaut and pilot of the Crew Dragon orbital spaceflight mission Inspiration4, which launched on 15 September 2021. The Prosperity seat, was obtained as she won an entrepreneur competition. During the flight training she received the call sign Leo.[24][25][26][27]

She was joined by Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, and Chris Sembroski, for the first all-civilian human spaceflight mission. In August 2021 she was featured on the cover of a Time magazine double issue with the rest of the crew of Inspiration4.[28][29][30]

2024 U.S. State Department Science Envoy

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As a scientist-astronaut, Proctor was selected to be a U.S. Science Envoy in 2024 to represent the United States Department of State's global initiative to promote civil use of space in order "to build peer-to-peer connections with foreign researchers, promote space science education, and raise awareness of the importance of space science to society."[31][32] The 2024 Cohort of U.S. Science Envoys is the first all-female cohort in the history of the U.S. Science Envoy Program.[33]

Career in science education

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HI-SEAS (2013)

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Proctor 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 by Discover Magazine as the photographer for Kate Greene's article Simulating Mars on Earth. She also filmed the Meals for Mars YouTube series while in the Mars simulation.[34][35][36]

PolarTREC (2014)

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In 2014, she was selected as a PolarTREC teacher, which is a program funded by the National 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 in Barrow, Alaska learning historical ecology for risk management and investigating the impact of climate change on the coastline and community.[37][38]

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 sends K–16 formal and informal astronomy educators to US astronomy facilities in Chile. During the summer of 2016, she joined eight other ambassadors as they visited Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), Gemini South Observatory, and the Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA).[39]

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 the National 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 conducted pollock research in the Bering Sea on the fisheries vessel Oscar Dyson and detailed her experience for the blog of NOAA.[40]

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 the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in 2023

She is an international speaker, communicating about science education, leadership, spacial simulations, sustainable foods and diversity in science. Furthermore, she has given several TEDx Talks.[35][41][42][43]

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 calls AfroGaia.[44] 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 as Earthlight (astronomy).[45] She is an artist-in-residence at Arizona State University.[46] While aboard the orbiting Crew Dragon spaceship, she became the first African-American to paint in space.[47]

Appearances in television

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She has made multiple appearances on television.[12][48][49][50]

  • 2010: Season 2 of The Colony, a ten episodes show that was filmed in New Orleans.
  • 2012: Appearance in two episodes of the first season of The STEM Journals, an educational show for kids interested in science, technology, engineering, and math.
  • 2016: Appearance in episode 2: Are We Alone of the series Genius by Stephen Hawking
  • From 2017 to 2019 she acted as the science demonstrator on the Science Channel show Strange 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 series Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space. An original Netflix series.

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. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  3. ^ Hadfield, Chris. ""First Commercial Spaceship Female Pilot"". Twitter. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  4. ^ Connor, Holly J. (12 October 2021). "Dr. Sian Proctor, the First Black Woman to Pilot a Spacecraft, Makes History: "A Phoenix Rising"". msmagazine.com. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  5. ^ Chang, Kenneth (16 September 2021). "Sian Proctor is the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  6. ^ Proctor, Sian. "Doctor Proctor's Space 2 Inspire". p. Home. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Announcement of the 2024 Cohort of U.S. Science Envoys". whitehouse.gov. USA. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  8. ^ Reilly, Carly. "Dr. Sian Proctor on Afrofuturism, NFTs, Space & More | Overpriced JPEGs". bankless.hq. Bankless. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Space2inspire: An Orbital Perspective of Earth as a Geoscientist, Artist, and Poet". National Air & Space Museum. Smithsonian. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  10. ^ "LIVE BID! Seeker, Space-Flown World-Traveling Original Art Piece by Dr. Sian Proctor". charitybuzz.com. Charitybuzz. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  11. ^ Prlich, Donna. "Impact: Explore 2023 Shows How Planet Data Aims To Change The World". Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  12. ^ a b Thacker, Dawn (7 February 2012). "Profiles in Strengths: Sian Proctor, Ph.D." South Mountain Community College. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  13. ^ Mehrotra, Kriti (6 September 2021). "Inspiration4's Dr. Sian Proctor: Everything We Know". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Dr. Sian Proctor's Transformative Space". Maricopa Community Colleges. p. About the District. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  15. ^ Drake, Nadia (7 October 2021). "Sian Proctor, first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft, opens up about her journey". National Geographic. pp. Science. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  16. ^ Proctor, Sian Hayley (2006). Cognitive process strategies and performance on a contour map memory test (PhD thesis). Arizona State University. OCLC 759870195. ProQuest 305357112.
  17. ^ 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. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Association of Space Explorers". Space-explorers. pp. United States. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  19. ^ The White House (16 December 2022). "Vice President Harris Announces Selections to the National Space Council's Users Advisory Group". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  20. ^ Kraus, J. "Sian Proctor Citation CJ3 jet training". NOIRLab. National Science Foundation. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  21. ^ @rookisaacman (10 August 2021). "Register" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ 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. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  23. ^ "KAUST Space 2101 offers KSA students an 'Out-Of-This-World' STEAM-Learning Experience". Saudi Gazette. Thuwal. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  24. ^ Bardhan, Ashley; Brown, Mike (3 September 2021). "Inspiration4: Why it's going higher than the ISS". Inverse. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  25. ^ Kan, Michel (16 September 2021). "Inspiration 4 Successfully Blasts Off for the First All-Civilian Orbital Space Flight". PC Magazine. pp. Science & Space. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  26. ^ 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 from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  27. ^ 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. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  28. ^ Thompson, Amy (22 October 2021). "Inspiration4 astronaut Sian Proctor reflects on historic SpaceX spaceflight experience". Space. pp. Spaceflight. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  29. ^ Kluger, Jeffrey (10 August 2021). "Four Civilian Astronauts. Three Days in Orbit. One Giant Leap. Meet the Inspiration4 Crew". Time. pp. Science: Space. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  30. ^ Kluger, Jeffrey (23 April 2021). "Meet the Inspiration4 Team, the World's First Non-Professional Astronaut Space Crew". Time. pp. Science: Space. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  31. ^ "Announcement of the 2024 Cohort of U.S. Science Envoys". U.S Department of State. USA. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  32. ^ "FACT SHEET: Strengthening U.S. International Space Partnerships". whitehouse.gov. USA. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  33. ^ "Announcement of the 2024 Cohort of U.S. Science Envoys". whitehouse.gov. USA. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  34. ^ Greene, Kate (10 May 2013). "What the First Martian Settlers Will Eat (Maybe)". Discover. Archived from the original on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  35. ^ a b Proctor, Sian (October 2018). "Eat Like a Martian". TED. Tucson Salon. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  36. ^ Proctor, Sian (2013). "Meals For Mars". YouTube. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  37. ^ Proctor, Sian (5 February 2014). "Sian Proctor". PolarTREC. p. Member. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  38. ^ Cornelius, Keridwen (8 December 2018). "Curiosity Rover". Phoenix. pp. People. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  39. ^ Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (2016). "ACEAP 2016 Ambassadors". Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program. Associated Universities, Inc. p. ACEAP 2016 Ambassadors. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  40. ^ Proctor, Sian (2 August 2017). "Sian Proctor: A Fast Farewell!". NOAA Teachers at Sea Blog. Gulf of Alaska. p. Past Seasons. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  41. ^ Proctor, Sian. "International Speaker". p. Appearances. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  42. ^ Proctor, Sian (7 February 2019). "Imposter Syndrome: Overcoming the Voice From Within" (mp4). South Mountain Community Library: TED. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  43. ^ Proctor, Sian (10 September 2019). "Our Transformative Space". TED. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  44. ^ Koren, Marina (10 December 2022). "Seeing Earth From Space Will Change You". theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  45. ^ MICHEL, CAROLINA LONDONO (7 June 2021). "1.6 EarthLight". maricopa.edu. Mariposa Community College.
  46. ^ Baker, Lori (30 September 2022). "1st Black woman to pilot a US spacecraft lands new position at ASU". asu.edu.
  47. ^ Prlich, Donna. "Impact: Explore 2023 Shows How Planet Data Aims To Change The World". Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  48. ^ "Are We Alone?". Genius by Stephen Hawking. Episode 2. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  49. ^ "Strange Evidence". Science Channel. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  50. ^ Proctor, Sian. "Lights, camera, action!". p. On camera personality. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
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