Today is the International Day of Human Space Flight, and to celebrate, I thought we could highlight some of the amazing women who contributed to this frontier. This day is celebrated each year to remember the beginning of the space era. It is meant to reaffirm the critical contributions of Science and Technology in achieving sustainable development goals through learning about space. On this International Day of Human Space flight, we remember some of the brave females of this period.
Valentina Tereshkova
She was the first woman in space, joining the Soviet Air Force as part of the Cosmonaut Corps and later commissioned as an officer after completing her training. After the dissolution of the first group of female cosmonauts in 1969. Tereshkova remained in the space program as a cosmonaut instructor.
Roberta Bondar
She was Canada’s first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. After more than a decade as head of an international space medicine research team collaborating with NASA, Bondar became a consultant and speaker in the business, scientific and medical communities.
Mary Jackson
She was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer at NASA. She worked on the first American human space mission- Project Mercury. During her career, she helped other minorities advance their careers and personally achieved the most senior engineering title at NASA.
