India, Sept. 24 -- Jessica Watkins is all set to return to space, this time as commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station. The geologist-turned-astronaut will lead a four-member international crew targeted to launch on 1st October.

Despite it being her first time commanding a mission, Crew-13 will mark her second spaceflight. Watkins is well acquainted to the space station, where she first travelled to the ISS in 2022 as a mission specialist abroad NASA's SpaceX Crew-4, spending 170 days in orbit across Expeditions 67 and 68.

Born in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Watkins grew up in Lafayette, Colorado, which she considers her hometown. Long before her journey carried her into space, her curiosity was rooted ...