Astronaut Nichole Ayers shares how Pikes Peak region upbringing got her a pilot seat to space

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Today, the astronauts preparing to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

One of them is our very own Nichole Ayers, a graduate of Woodland Park High School and the Air Force Academy.

Ayers is already well known for her expertise in the cockpit, but as she prepares to take on this new mission next week, she's reflecting on her time here in the Pikes Peak region and the role it's played in guiding her to the pilot's seat on the next NASA SpaceX joint mission.

"Growing up right there in Colorado, next to the Air Force Academy during the shuttle era, when I learned you could fly the shuttle, I was like, oh, so that's what I want to do. I want to be a pilot in the Air Force and the Air Force Academy right there with the Thunderbirds flying over every year was just a natural decision for me," Ayers said.

A graduate from the 2011 U.S. Air Force Academy class, NASA says Ayers is one of just a few women to fly an F-22 Raptor.

In 2019, she led the first-ever all-women formation of the Raptor into combat; logging more than 200 flight hours over Iraq and Syria.

"Then I came here and started the formal course, the initial training for us as an ASCAN and so two years of initial training, followed by a year to a year and a half of training for this mission," Ayers said.

She's a member of NASA's SpaceX Crew 10.

She, along with a fellow NASA astronaut, will be joined by a Russian cosmonaut and a member of Japan's space program.

When they arrive at the ISS, they'll stay in orbit for about 4 months.

Ayers says preparations for this trip are like no other, "One of the most challenging parts of our training here in ASCAN training is the neutral buoyancy lab and learning how to do a spacewalk. You know, as an F-22 pilot, we were kind of on the operational tip of the spear in the military, and now we get to go do things that are on the operational tip of the spear for humanity."

So, after years of physical, mental, and technical training... What part of the mission is she most looking forward to?

"I found this little pack of hiking peanut butter. It's a peanut butter with like espresso and chocolate in it. And then I also had some chocolate chips approved. So, I'm going to take those chocolate chips, put them on the peanut butter on a spoon, and twirl it around. It's my niece and nephew's favorite snack, so I'm excited to share that with them," Ayers said.

Weather permitting, the SpaceX Dragon Endurance is slated for Wednesday, March 12 at 5:48 p.m. MT.

NASA says the crew will be conducting more than 200 experiments for the benefit of humanity.