History-Making NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir to Visit Hadlock Field May 20th

Portland, Maine- NASA astronaut and Maine native Jessica Meir will make an appearance at Hadlock Field on Friday, May 20th when the Sea Dogs host the Harrisburg Senators at 5:00 PM for a doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games.

Meir will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Additionally, she will be available for a question and answer session which will be held in the Corporate Corner at Hadlock Field from 5:00 to 5:30 PM.

Meir was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2013. She served as the flight engineer on Expeditions 61 and 62 (Sept. 25, 2019 – April 17, 2020) to the International Space Station. During her first spaceflight, Meir conducted the first three all-woman spacewalks with crewmate Christina Koch, totaling 21 hours and 44 minutes. Meir has spent 205 days in space which totals 3,280 orbits of Earth and 86.9 million miles.

In December 2020, Meir was selected as one of the 18 astronauts to participate in NASA’s Artemis program, the lunar exploration program that will send the first woman and next man to the Moon in 2024.

Meir was born and raised in Caribou, Maine. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Brown University, a Master of Science in Space Studies from the International Space University, and a Doctorate in Marine Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The Sea Dogs are happy to recognize the local connection to the next mission to the moon with our Maine on the Moon Night. The first 1,000 fans to enter the ballpark will receive a moon-shaped stress ball, courtesy of FMI, a Spirit Aerosystems Company. The night will include educational displays in the concourse at Hadlock Field, with FMI team members on hand to discuss how their materials are being used on ground-breaking space Initiatives like the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle for NASA’s Artemis program, and the heat shield for the recent Mars 2020 Mission. The Challenger Learning Center of Maine will also be at the game. The Center offers "hands-on, minds-on" learning experiences that are out of this world! They merge the power of imagination with the excitement of discovery, using many of the same techniques employed by NASA.

Meir is the second Maine astronaut to make an appearance at Hadlock Field, following Chris Cassidy, who made an appearance in 2019 in celebration of the Apollo 11 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Tickets for this game and all Portland Sea Dogs home games are available online at seadogs.com and by calling the Sea Dogs ticket office at 207-879-9500. Advance ticket prices range between $11 and $13 for adults and $8 to $12 for kids (16 and under) and seniors (62 and over).