International Day of Human Space Flight: The USA rugby players making history in space
Jessica Watkins and Anne McClain went where few humans have been before when they travelled on six-month NASA missions to space. And the two former USA rugby players credit their sporting background with their historic success as astronauts.
Rugby Sevens
What does it take to be an astronaut?
For NASA, the requirements include a master’s degree in a STEM field of education, a strenuous physical examination and soft skills including leadership, teamwork and communications.
But what about rugby? While it might seem crazy to add the sport to the list, two former USA Rugby internationals have now travelled to space: Anne McClain and Jessica Watkins.
Anne McClain: How rugby helped her in her mission to space
McClain was the first of the USA Rugby Eagles to fulfil her dream of space travel, reaching the International Space Station in 2018 and returning to earth six months later in June 2019.
She now credits the sport with helping her in her new role after swapping the rain-sodden fields of her club side in England for the gravity-free environments of space.
“So rugby has surprisingly helped me a lot as an astronaut,” said McClain, whose final game of elite-level rugby came the week before she found out she had been selected to be an astronaut.
“When I’m training in my space suit in the EMU and working in our large pool at the neutral buoyancy lab underwater, we’re under there for six hours at a time and you really work yourself to mental and physical exhaustion.
"The only other time that I’ve hit that level of exhaustion is the 60th minute of a rugby match. When your body gets that physically tired you can’t mentally give up, you actually have to think about things more deliberately, with more clarity because you’re more prone to mistakes. And it’s the people that can overcome that physical and keep going with the clarity of mind that win both rugby matches and find themselves successful at training in a space suit.”
Jessica Watkins: Rugby star becomes black female with most time in space
Watkins journey to space took a similar path to that of McCain. While at Stanford University she starred for the USA in the 2009 Rugby World Cup 7s, having scored the crucial winning try in 2008 game that won her University the national title. At the World Cup the next year she was the USA's top try scorer as the team finished on the podum with a third-place finish.
Looking back on her history in rugby, Watkins, who is a trained geologist, speaks about the similar skills you need in both team sports and space flight - particularly when it comes to working together as a unit.
“The international cooperation that is required to do what we do up here every day is exactly like that,” she said when asked about the topic.
Playing sport at an elite level also requires you to dream big. And Watkins is dreaming bigger than ever now that she has become the black female with the most time in space following her six-month stint as a mission specialist in 2022.
“Whichever comes first!” Watkins replied when asked by AFP whether she’d rather travel to the Moon or Mars.
“I certainly would be just absolutely thrilled to be able to be a part of the effort to go to another planetary surface whether it be the Moon or Mars.”
Watkins’ place as a trailblazer is now established in history, but she also serves as an inspiration for those down on earth - including her fellow rugby players.
“As we fly over the southwestern Pacific Ocean, I want to send a special message to the USA national women’s rugby team,” she said in a video where she throws to the camera perhaps the first-ever rugby ball to be seen in space.
“And wish you all the best of luck as you get ready to take on the world at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. We’re so proud of all the hard work you’ve put in to reach this point and can’t wait to watch you represent our country on the pitch. We’ll be rooting for you from 250 miles up. Go Eagles!”
Now if that doesn’t make you want to reach for the stars, what will?