Even astronauts have down days.
Kellie Gerardi, director of human spaceflight at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences and the 90th woman to fly in space, is also a working mom who juggles it all.
When she’s not raising or teaching astronauts in training about microgravity, Gerardi documents her fertility challenges and motherhood journey on Instagram — the research astronaut recently gave birth to her second daughter, conceived through IVF.
In June of 2026, just 8 weeks after giving birth, Gerardi returned to work and became the first woman to pump breast milk in microgravity during an IIAS flight. (Her tool of choice was a breast pump from Willow’s line.)
For those who find science interesting [and] they want to understand why it is important to research, “Gerardi wrote on the side of a recent Instagram post,” breast milk contains bioactive lipids that show things like the mother’s metabolism, inflammation, stress responses, and general adaptation of the body during the postpartum period. So studying how those molecules change in response to a controlled physiologic stressor like microgravity/high g can help us better understand how maternal physiologic stress is reflected in milk during postpartum recovery.”
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After more than eight years of infertility for the second time, the birth of her daughter was finally a vision. As a way to give back to his community, Gerardi teamed up with online registry site Babylist to establish IVF grants.
Gerardi, 37, is happy to be a role model for his 2.5 million followers Instagram again TikTokbut not in a my-life-is-perfect way. Gerardi literally reaches for the stars, but she’s also completely down to Earth about the myriad of expectations placed on women.
“I gained about 60 pounds from my last IVF round and this pregnancy,” Gerardi wrote recently. “Those pounds are still with me and I suspect they may be temporary, and it’s comforting to know that…I don’t have to waste mental energy feeling any way about that.”
Two and a half years after visiting space on Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 05 Mission, Gerardi was recognized for her achievements when a Barbie doll that looked like her was created as part of International Women’s Day celebrations.
Gerardi had the perfect Instagram caption to mark the occasion: “When you worked for the last 20 years so your daughter/daughter can say Mom is an astronaut AND Barbie.”
A common thread in much of Gerardi’s online content is his belief that women – and girls – consist of mobs. It’s not just what he says, though; it’s something he lives for.
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