Dr. Fisher grew up in San Pedro, California, and earned a BS and MS in Chemistry, as well as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in Emergency Medicine.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in January 1978, Dr. Fisher was part of the first group of women ever chosen for the U.S. Space Program. In November 1984, she flew onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-51A, deploying two communication satellites and, for the first time in history, retrieving and returning two satellites to Earth for refurbishment and relaunch. On that mission, she served as flight engineer and robotic arm operator, becoming the first mother to fly in space.

After the Challenger accident, Dr. Fisher took a seven-year leave of absence to raise her family. She returned to NASA in January 1996 and served as chief of the Space Station Branch during the early stages of building the International Space Station, overseeing the launch of the first two expedition crews. Following the Columbia accident in 2003, she worked as an ISS Capcom in Mission Control and later contributed to display development for the Orion crew vehicle as part of NASA’s Artemis program.

Dr. Fisher retired from NASA in April 2017 after an extraordinary 36 years and 9 months of service, making her one of the agency’s longest-serving astronauts. She now spends her time traveling, speaking about the space program and STEM careers, and enjoying life with her two daughters, two granddaughters, and three grandsons.