Mar. 18, 2024 By Athena Dawson
The Queens Public Library is hosting a virtual round table with retired astronaut Dr. Ellen Baker tonight at 6:30 p.m. as part of their Women’s History Month programming.
Baker- the 11th woman in the world to make it to space- grew up in Bayside and is the daughter of former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman. After graduating from medical school, Baker studied internal medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center. In 1981, she joined NASA, working as a medical officer for the Johnson Space Center. By 1984, she became an astronaut completing three space flights and logging over 680 hours in space throughout her career.
Her missions in space included the exploration of Jupiter through a deployed spacecraft and life science experiments involving crystals, biology and combustion science. In 2011 Baker retired to start a new chapter.