Women's History Month: Women In Space Sciences... 2024

This is one area where, for many decades, the then-Soviet Union scientists were out, far ahead -- of the USA, Europe and NASA. . . Do take a look.

To have more, we must. . . teach more -- STEM programs are worth their weight in gold. Here's the latest, from NASA:

. . .As of Feb. 29, 2024, 75 women have flown in space. Of these, 47 have worked on the International Space Station as long-duration expedition crew members, as visitors on space shuttle assembly flights, as space flight participants, or as commercial astronauts.

This article recognizes the significant accomplishments of these women from many nations as well as the pioneering women who preceded them into space. Many other women contributed to the assembly of the station and the research conducted aboard on a daily basis, including those on the ground who served as center directors, managers, flight directors, and in many other roles to pursue the exploration of space. Their achievements will contribute to NASA’s efforts to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and possibly send the first crews to Mars in the coming decades. . . .

The era of women in space began on June 16, 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova launched aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft. Chosen from a group of five women selected for training, Tereshkova completed a three-day mission and entered the history books as the first woman to orbit the Earth. Nearly 20 years passed before another woman flew in space.

In January 1978, NASA announced the selection of 35 new astronauts including six women for the space shuttle program. In response, the Soviet Union secretly selected a group of nine women cosmonauts in 1980. On Aug. 19, 1982, one of these women, Svetlana Y. Savitskaya, launched with her two crewmates aboard Soyuz T-7 for a week-long mission. The next day, they joined the two long-duration resident crewmembers aboard Salyut 7, marking the first time a space station hosted a mixed-gender crew. Ten months later, on June 18, 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride made history as the first American woman in space, spending seven days aboard space shuttle Challenger during the STS-7 mission. . . .

That is only the first bit -- do go read it all. Onward, grinning!

नमस्ते