Jodie Foster Rhodes Programs for NASA Missions

By Todd Fuqua

Everyone has a crossroads when they realize what they do (or do not) want to do.

For Jodie Foster Rhodes (BS 99), that crossroads came in her junior year at ENMU.

Jodie Foster-Rhodes

NASA Photo

“I was a math major, but I realized I didn’t want to teach math,” Jodie said. “That’s when I discovered computer science.”

After collaborating with Dr. Thurman Elder (MA 66, BS 64) and Dr. Ann Cable, Jodie was able to double major in math and computer science, a decision that eventually led her to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and a career as a software engineer. It’s a decision she has never regretted.

Jodie with astronaut Shane Kimbrough in the hatch leading to the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, the night before launch August 2009. This particular mission brought astronauts and equipment to the International Space Station.

Courtesy Photo

“I started my career at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in June 1999 for a team that handled Shuttle and International Space Station software,” Jodie said. “I had my first code in space on a shuttle mission in 2001. Now that was thrilling!”

Currently, Jodie is busy supporting the Artemis project, NASA’s attempt to return us to the moon and beyond. Her job doesn’t sound all that exciting to non-computer people, but it is critical to the mission. Her team is creating a procedure authoring and viewing tool. This tool creates and displays procedures for everything astronauts do on a mission – from conducting experiments to going to the bathroom.

While such a job might seem tedious to many, Jodie finds plenty of excitement in planning every movement down to the smallest detail, as even the slightest misstep in orbit can spell disaster.

“We’ve spent two hours talking about a hyphen in our writing, it’s that precise,” Jodie said. “I’ve created a program that keeps every version of the procedures. This way, we can track changes and explain why they’ve been changed, and it stores them forever.”

Jodie’s work doesn’t involve her personally going into space. Only the computer code she writes makes the trip, which helps astronauts complete their missions on the Shuttle, the International Space Station, and Artemis. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t get excited on launch day.

Jodie at an Artemis I MCC FAO Console at Mission Control. Image content blurred to ensure no proprietary information is disclosed.

Courtesy Photo

“A lot of the days are stressful, but the excitement of a launch is beyond anything you can imagine. I tear up at every launch, and those are the days you remember why you did all those exhausting tasks.”

In 2016, she and her husband – who also works for NASA monitoring all signals that might interfere with NASA communication – moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where she has been working remotely from home ever since.

“I enjoy what I do, and I’m not retiring right any time soon,” Jodie said. “I’m not leaving yet. We’re going to the moon and Mars!”