Radiologist among the crew of Blue Origin's latest spaceflight

A radiologist from Greensboro, North Carolina, was among the latest crew of six that traveled to space during Blue Origin’s most recent venture. 

Gretchen Green, MD, a radiologist who specializes in women’s imaging, fulfilled her lifelong dream of space travel Saturday when she sat alongside five other crew members of Blue Origin’s historic NS-32 mission. Green, who attended Space Camp for the first time in 1986, described her time onboard the rocket as “unparalleled and amazing.” 

“There are very few things in life that are true perfection,” Green said in a video released by Blue Origin after the flight. “When I looked out from space and back down to Earth, our training was perfect, the experience from Blue Origin was just unparalleled and amazing, and that was the word that came to mind. Everything about it was just perfect.” 

Green has an extensive educational background, having trained at Harvard, Yale and Brown. She also serves on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board, has chaired the Space Camp Alumni Association, is a certified life coach and medicolegal expert. 

Despite her busy career, she has managed to find plenty of time for adventure. Green has biked across the U.S. and traveled to the North Pole—feats she believes were achieved, in part, due to lessons she learned during her experience at Space Camp as a child. 

“I’ve kept those memories as encouragement for me when I took on harder and harder academic, personal, and professional challenges,” Green said. 

It is common for crew members of Blue Origin flights to bring a small memento with them during the mission. For this, Green chose to bring a polaroid picture of herself at space camp at 12 years old. 

The flight launched and landed Saturday in West Texas. It was Blue Origin’s 12th successful human spaceflight.