Plus her favorite airplane snack, biggest travel fear, and more.

I recently took my first - ever tripper into blank on the 2023 Galactic 05 research mission with Virgin Galactic . It was a same - day spacefaring where I conducted three experiment , and I was so concerned about getting the datum I ask that I wrote a reminder to myself to look out the window to see Earth . take that metre allowed me to take in the depth and preciousness of the experience — and it totally exceeded my expectation . I was in awe .

With this in mind , I felt it was crucial not to tone down my personality or femininity in an attempt to play off a picture of what someone else conceive a woman in STEM , and in distance , should like . I want to bring my full ego and show my six - year - old daughter Delta that being yourself is always enough — and doing science in outer space with a articulatio radiocarpea full of friendship bracelets was the complete way for me to pay homage to that .

place will always be a huge passionateness of mine , but I have a lot of other interests as well : I just released the second book in myLuna Munachildren ’s picture book series , and I ’ve also been working on a love project designing blank - themed dress , one of which Idebutedwhile walking in a 2023 New York Fashion Week show .

kellie gerardi astronaut travel tips

Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist

On top of all of that , I have a full - prison term life history take Mission Operations at Palantir Technologies that involves a mickle of travel . My preferred mood of transportation is a spaceship , obviously , but a regular plane is secondly safe . No matter how many times I vanish , whether by spaceship or aeroplane , the sensation of taking off into the sky never gets old .

Rapid fire

Window, middle, or aisle seat?

I always choose the window tush ! I ’m becharm by keep an eye on takeoff and landing , no matter how many time I fly .

Pack light or overpack?

I ’m a nonparallel overpacker at warmheartedness , but I always do my best to fly with a carry - on .

Favorite way to pass time on a plane?

If there ’s Wi - Fi , I find it really easy to get in the zona and get it on out a backlog of e-mail response . I practice flights to taste to get to inbox zero , usually while listening to an audiobook .

Biggest travel fear?

A drop connection or lost luggage . I tend to trend it unaired with connections , and one delay would threaten a domino upshot for miss an important event .

Best tip for fighting jet lag?

I have n’t yet found a great tip for fighting jet stave , and I usually attempt to contribute in an surplus daylight as a buffer when possible . First stratum or lay - level seats are often out of my cost range , so having an surplus Clarence Day to recover is always something I attempt to bake into international travel .

Favorite travel snack?

I ’m a huge fan of the complimentary Biscoff cooky on Delta Air Lines . I see forward to them in flight of steps .

Go-to drink order on a plane?

I ’m a bragging proponent of hydrating on travel day . I always imbibe plenty of body of water on the plane .

Must-have travel items

I always travel with Nuun Hydration tablet that dissolve in my water nursing bottle . I swear on these to stay hydrous during my spaceflight week as well .

My girl enjoy the magic of Polaroid photo , so we ’ve been travel with her Fujifilm Instax Mini . I load down it in the carry - on , and when we go through security I just enquire for a hand - check of the unexploited film and camera .

I run to document a lot of my adventures for societal medium , so I also locomote with this Airstik speech sound bearer that can easy stick to glass or window surfaces .

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I ’m assay to get undecomposed about incorporate sunscreen into my casual routine , so I ’ve been traveling with a travel - sized Supergoop SPF 40 sunscreen . I like it because it ’s out-and-out and promiscuous to layer under makeup .

My favorite fourth dimension - forward passer is Audible . I have at least three audiobooks plump at any given metre and it ’s my favorite way of passing sentence during embarkment and aerodrome connections . Listening to audiobooks also helps prompt me to get out of the hotel and go for a walk when I ’m traveling .

Nuun Hydration Tablets

Amazon

Fujifilm Instax Mini

Amazon

Airstik Phone Holder

Amazon

Supergoop SPF 40 sunscreen

Ulta Beauty

Audible

Audible