Jessica Andrea Watkins (born May 14, 1988) is an American NASA astronaut, geologist, aquanaut and former international rugby player.

Watkins was announced as the first Black woman who completed an International Space Station long-term mission in April 2022.

On June 9, 2022, at 7:38 UTC, she became the African American woman with the most time in space, surpassing Stephanie Wilson's 42 day, 23 hour and 46 minute record.

Her graduate research, under the supervision of professor An Yin, focused on emplacement mechanisms for landslides on Mars and Earth, including the effect of water activity.

[6] Prior to her selection as an astronaut candidate, Watkins was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology, where she was also an assistant coach to the women's basketball team.

In November 2021, she became the 4th astronaut of Group 22, and first Black woman, to be assigned a long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS) after being chosen as the final member of SpaceX Crew-4, which launched in April 2022.

Watkins’ NEEMO mission was the first of its kind to feature an all-female research team led by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.