Please note the date of her selection for this mission, January 5, 2016; it was during the last days of the Regime. It seems unusual going from the CIA to NASA.
She qualified as an astronaut in 2011,[6] and subsequently served as an aquanaut aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory during the NEEMO 18 undersea exploration mission for nine days from July 21, 2014. [9][10] On January 5, 2016 NASA announced that Epps was set to become the first African American space station crew member in May 2018