BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan — Jessica Meir has spent a lifetime preparing and the last seven years training.
On Wednesday, Meir, who was born and raised in Caribou will begin a dream-come-true mission into space.
However, she won't be able to spend much time thinking about it.
The mission begins with a wild ride on a Russian rocket on Sept. 25 at 9:57 EDT and includes a number of highly-sophisticated scientific experiments. Her journey is expected to last six months.
NEWS CENTER Maine was able to get an exclusive interview with Dr. Meir from Kazakhstan.
She is expected to be joined in space by astronaut Chris Cassidy of York. He has been assigned to Expedition 63 and their time at the International Space Station should overlap by a couple of weeks.
Meir has a bachelor's degree in biology from Brown University, a master's degree in space studies from International Space University, and a doctorate in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Wednesday's launch of expedition 61 will be Meir's first spaceflight.