Jennifer Levasseur received her BA in history from the University of Michigan in 1999, an MA in American studies from The George Washington University in 2002, and PhD in history at George Mason University in 2014. Her dissertation, Pictures By Proxy: Images of Exploration and the First Decade of Astronaut Photography at NASA, looks at the cultural significance of astronaut photography. Her book, based on that dissertation, Through Astronaut Eyes: Photographing Early Human Spaceflight, was published by Purdue University Press in 2020. She serves as the responsible curator for the Museum's astronaut cameras, chronographs, Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and contemporary human spaceflight programs.

Prior to her work at the National Air and Space Museum, she worked as a historic interpreter at George Washington's Mount Vernon, and did an internship at the National Portrait Gallery's Department of Photography. There, she cataloged photographs acquired through donation and developed strategies for recording portrait information in the museum's electronic database.

With over 18 years at the Museum, Jennifer has worked on programs including artifact loans, the Museum's annual Mutual Concerns conference, and as a representative for the department on digital and other exhibition projects. Most recently, she curated the exhibit Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity and currently serves as exhibition curator for the Moving Beyond Earth exhibition. She is the lead curator for a new exhibition, At Home in Space, set to open in 2025.

Article

• Levasseur, Jennifer. 2024. "A space age instrument for space voyagers: The personal, professional, and cultural relevance of astronaut chronographs." Journal of Material Culture, https://doi.org/10.1177/13591835241298208. 2024
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2019. "Keeping Time: Conservation of NASM's Astronaut Chronograph Collection." Collections Quarterly, 3, (August) 14–15. 2019
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2017. "Arrival: The Circle of Life? Review of the film Arrival, Paramount Pictures, 2016.
  ." Endeavour, 41, (2) 33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2017.02.005. 2017
• Launius, Roger D., Conway, Erik M., Johnston, Andrew K., Wang, Zse Chien, Hersch, Matthew H., Paikowsky, Deganit, Whalen, David J., Toldi, Eric, Dougherty, Kerrie, Hays, Peter L., Levasseur, Jennifer K., McNutt, Ralph L., and Sherwood, Brent. 2012. "Spaceflight: The Development of Science, Surveillance, and Commerce in Space." Proceedings of the IEEE, 100 1785–1818. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2012.2187143. 2012
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2009. "Seeing Earth: A New Look at the Apollo 8 Earthrise Photograph." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 16, (3) 24–33. 2009

Blog Posting

• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2020. "Our Friend Al Who Went to the Moon." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Mar 19, 2020. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/our-friend-al-who-went-moon. 2020
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2020. "Redefining How NASA Gets into Space." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. May 26, 2020. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/redefining-how-nasa-gets-space. 2020
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2020. "Visual Information and Apollo 13." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Apr 16, 2020. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/visual-information-and-apollo-13. 2020
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2019. "Dog-Eared on the Moon?" Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Jul 10, 2019. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/dog-eared-moon. 2019
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2019. "How We Saw Armstrong's First Steps." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Jul 8, 2019. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/how-we-saw-armstrongs-first-steps. 2019
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2018. "The Star Wars Galaxy in Real Space." Smithsonian National Air And Space Museum Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. May 4, 2018. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/star-wars-galaxy-real-space. 2018
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2017. "Star Wars: A Merchandising Empire." Smithsonian National Air And Space Museum Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Dec 20, 2017. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/star-wars-merchandising-empire. 2017
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2017. "The Wow Factor: New NASA Images Library." Air and Space Stories https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/wow-factor-new-nasa-images-library. 2017
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2016. "A Most Interesting Man on the Moon: Remembering Edgar D. Mitchell." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Feb 9, 2016. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/space/remembering-edgar-d-mitchell/. 2016
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2016. "How We Saw the Moon: Top Ten Apollo Images." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum 2016
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2016. "Remembering Piers J. Sellers, Scientist and Astronaut." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/remembering-piers-j-sellers-scientist-and-astronaut. 2016
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2015. "And then the Curator Asks, "What's a Tumblr?"." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Mar 31, 2015. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/behind-the-scenes/whats-a-tumblr/. 2015
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2015. "Five Things I Learned While Curating Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Jan 27, 2015. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/behind-the-scenes/lessons-from-a-curator/. 2015
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2015. "Walking in Space: Our Favorite Facts about the First U.S. Spacewalk." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum 2015
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2014. "Seeing Apollo 12 (blog essay)." http://blog.nasm.si.edu/ November 19. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/history/television-and-apollo-12/. 2014
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2012. "Bringing Spaceflight Down to Earth." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Apr 4, 2012. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/space/bringing-spaceflight-down-to-earth/. 2012
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2012. "CSI: NASM (Curator Scene Investigator: National Air and Space Museum)." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Nov 27, 2012. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/hidden-treasures/csi-nasm-curator-scene-investigator-national-air-and-space-museum/. 2012
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2011. "Another Journey for John Glenn's Ansco Camera." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. May 27, 2011. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/behind-the-scenes/another-journey-for-john-glenn%E2%80%99s-ansco-camera/. 2011
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2011. "Leaving the Moon, Watching at Home." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Dec 30, 2011. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/history/leaving-the-moon-watching-at-home/. 2011
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2009. "The Mutual Concerns of Air and Space Museums." AIRSPACE BLOG: Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Apr 9, 2009. http://blog.nasm.si.edu/behind-the-scenes/the-mutual-concerns-of-air-and-space-museums/. 2009

Book

• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2020. Through Astronaut Eyes: Photographing Early Human Spaceflight. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. Hansen, James R. Purdue Studies in Aeronautics and Astronautics. 2020

Chapter

• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2019. "Brewed in Space - Sipping Java in Zero-G." In Cosmos Coffee. Jahreis, Melanie, Marquart, Sara, and Mollers, Nina, editors. 184–191. Munich, Germany: Deutsches Museum. 2019
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2019. "The Moon through the Eyes of the Apollo Astronauts." In The Moon: A Celebration of Our Celestial Neighbor. Vandenbrouck, Melanie, Barford, Megan, Devoy, Louise, and Dunn, Richard, editors. 118–121. Glasgow: Collins. 2019
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2018. "Hasselblad, Camera, Apollo 17." In Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects. Muir-Harmony, Teasel, editor. 156–159. Washington, DC: National Geographic. 2018

Review

• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2022. [Book review] "Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut's Journey." Quest, 29, (3), 59. 2022
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2019. [Book review] "Come Fly With Us: NASA's Payload Specialist Program, by Melvin Croft and John Youskauskas." Quest, 26, (3), 64. 2019
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2017. [Book review] "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race ; Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars." Physics Today, 70, (1), 57–58. https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3429. 2017
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2017. [Book review] "Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 24, (3), 55. 2017
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2016. [Book review] "How Outer Space Made America: Geography, Organization and the Cosmic Sublime, by Daniel Sage." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 23, (3), 63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474015609162. 2016
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2016. [Book review] "The Orbital Perspective: Lessons in Seeing the Big Picture from a Journey of 71 Million Miles, by Ron Garan." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 23, (1), 57. 2016
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2015. [Book review] "Curiosity: An Inside Look at the Mars Rover Mission and the People Who Made It Happen, by Rod Pyle." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 22, (2), 64. 2015
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2015. [Book review] "Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini: A Rare Photographic History, by John Bisney and J.L. Pickering." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 22, (4), 58. 2015
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2013. [Book review] "Inventing the American Astronaut, by Matthew H. Hersch." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 20, (2), 59. 2013
• Levasseur, Jennifer K. 2011. [Book review] "Live TV From the Moon." Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, 18, (1), 59–60. 2011