Nicole Mann Becomes the First Indigenous Woman in Space
NASA
On Oct. 5, Nicole Mann became the first Indigenous woman in space. According to NASA, Mann is the commander of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission, launching to the ISS in the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
People of colour and other minorities have been systematically excluded from positions of power and prestige in society. There is no exception in the field of astronautics. The first Indigenous woman in space carries great significance.
Even in the later stages of the renowned Apollo programme, which NASA launched in the middle of the 20th century, the astronauts were exclusively white men. Only when Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and Guion Bluford, the first person of colour, entered orbit in 1983 did that change.
The number of people who have taken part in the NASA astronaut program is over 360. Out of all the participants, only 15 of them have been Black. In an interview with Futurism, Charles Bolden stated, “It’s systemic. People don’t like that word, but it’s the way the system has developed and was built.”
Currently, Nicole Mann and her crew are on a five-month journey to the International Space Station, where they will join a long list of other astronauts who work there full-time for the next roughly 22 years, NASA reports. According to NASA, inside the International Space Station, they will be conducting cutting-edge science experiments such as 3D printing human organs and cells.
On Aug. 4, in a media release by NASA, Nicole Mann talked about becoming an astronaut and how she realized she wanted a career in astronautics later on in her life.
“I realized that being an astronaut was not only something that was a possible dream, but actually something that’s quite attainable. I think as a young girl, I just didn’t realize that that was an opportunity and a possibility”, she said.
She believes that promoting diversity in space is crucial and sends a strong message for future generations.
On Oct. 1, she told reporters at a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center, “I hope it inspires adults as well to follow your dreams and to realize that the limitations that we may have had in the past are starting to be broken down. What that does is it just highlights how incredible it is when we come together as a human species, the wonderful things that we can do and that we can accomplish.”