Astronaut Kellie Gerardi Balances IVF, Motherhood, and a Mission to Space

Kellie Gerardi has walked in space, conducted microgravity experiments, and broken new ground in aerospace science. But her most personal mission yet? Expanding her family.

After her historic suborbital flight in 2023, Gerardi was greeted by her daughter, Delta Victoria—named after the physics term “delta-v”—at Spaceport America. The moment highlighted the profound duality she lives every day: astronaut and mother.

Despite her demanding career in space research and astronaut training, Gerardi has been open about the challenges she faces with secondary infertility. After conceiving Delta in 2017 without intervention following early fertility concerns, she and her husband hoped for another miracle. Instead, they faced years of heartache, including a chemical pregnancy and a second-trimester loss. The uncertainty and grief led Gerardi to pursue IVF in 2024.

But IVF isn't a simple journey for anyone—least of all someone training for a 2026 spaceflight. Parabolic flights, which simulate zero gravity, are unsafe during pregnancy, and limited research exists on how microgravity and space conditions impact fertility. Early studies suggest space travel can disrupt ovulation and hormone levels, and potentially damage eggs, sperm, and embryos due to radiation and physical stress.

Gerardi has had to pause certain aspects of training, carefully coordinating IVF cycles with mission timelines. “Flying to space is up there with roller coasters, hot tubs, sushi… all of my favorites,” she joked in an Instagram video. But the timing of IVF was no laughing matter—it was carefully calculated to give her the best possible shot at success.

Opening up to her 1.4 million Instagram followers, Gerardi shared the raw realities of IVF—medication, retrieval, bloating, and all. In one emotional update, she revealed that only one chromosomally healthy embryo came from her 24 retrieved eggs. “I feel like a hypocrite because I kept telling myself, ‘You only need one,’” she said through tears. “And now I only have one.”

Yet her vulnerability sparked a groundswell of support from others in the fertility community. Her honesty about the emotional and physical toll of IVF—and the “biting-my-lower-lip-until-it’s-raw kind of stress”—has resonated deeply with followers, especially those balancing careers, families, and fertility challenges.

“I’ve always been a very goal-oriented person,” Gerardi says. “So it’s very hard for me to be pouring so much energy and emotion into something and to not be thinking about it 24/7.”

As researchers at NASA and beyond continue to investigate how space travel affects human fertility—especially in women—Gerardi’s story highlights a glaring gap in medical knowledge and reproductive equity. Less than 120 women have ever been to space, and most fertility data still centers on men or animal models.

Fertility specialist Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh sees hope in Gerardi’s story—not just for the future of space exploration, but for how IVF research might benefit people on Earth, too. “This isn’t just about astronauts,” she says. “It’s about all of us.”

For Gerardi, the mission is clear: whether or not her one embryo leads to a second child, she’s breaking new ground for mothers in space—and redefining what it means to be a modern woman navigating ambition, family, and the final frontier.