Stamp collector aboard Discovery

Both Associated Press and Space.com are reporting that Discovery shuttle mission specialist, Stephanie Wilson, has been an avid stamp collector since she was eight.

According to AP, Wilson, a 39-year-old Boston native and Harvard graduate, is the second black woman in space, following Dr. Mae Jemison, who made the journey in 1992.

Wilson will operate the shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm.

“I just love it. I think it's a great adventure, Wilson told TV reporters. "There is so much to learn. Humans have always had a quest for knowledge and thirst to explore and I have that same bug.”

In a related article on Space.com, Wilson is quoted as saying, "I started collecting stamps pretty young, I believe when I was eight."

"I mostly collect stamps off letters that I receive. I usually don't go out and purchase stamps but I like to be able to tell a story about a stamp: it came from this individual, on this card."

"So, it’s probably not worth very much," continued Wilson in the article , "but it’s more sentimental than probably a pristine stamp collection. It’s interesting to me to see the designs of the different stamps from the various countries."

To read the entire Associated Press article, click here.