Inspiration4 Destination:
Low Earth Orbit, Space Tourism

Dr. Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and astronaut, and is the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft. She is the mission pilot for the Inspiration4 all-civilian orbital mission to space. She won her seat on the all-private Inspiration4 mission by impressing a panel of judges with her artistry, her panache, and her efforts to promote what she calls JEDI space—a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive vision of space exploration for humanity. Inspiration4 is the world’s first all-civilian mission to orbit.Her motto is called Space2inspire where she encourages people to use their unique, one-of-a-kind strengths, and passion to inspire those within their reach and beyond. 

She uses her afrofuturism space art to encourage conversations about women of color in the space industry. She’s also an analog astronaut and has completed four analog missions including the all-female SENSORIA Mars 2020 mission at the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat, the NASA funded 4-months Mars mission at HI-SEAS, a 2-weeks Mars mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), and a 2-weeks Moon mission in the LunAres Habitat. 

In 2019, she was the science communication outreach officer on the JOIDES Resolution Expedition 383 and spent 2-months at sea with researchers investigating the Dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. She also participated in the 2-week faculty development seminar Exploring Urban Sustainability in India. 

Dr. Proctor spent 21 years as a professor teaching geology, sustainability, and planetary science at South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona. She is currently the Open Educations Resource Coordinator for the Maricopa Community College District. You can follow her on social media @DrSianProctor.