Last week, Nicole Aunapu Mann became the first Native American woman to travel to space. While it was a big step forward in terms of representation in the space industry, it comes 20 years after the first Native American man received the same honor.
Despite 60 years of female space travel internationally, only 12 percent of the nearly 600 people who have been into space have been women, and many of the barriers these women have faced have been in the space agencies themselves.
Karen Nyberg, a retired NASA astronaut, artist and engineer, became the 50th woman in space in 2008. When she started working for NASA, she was handed her first space suit that she began to feel any short of handicap.
The size was so large that it did not feet her. Most women would wear a small size, said she.
Not because women weren't capable, but because the spacesuit didn't fit them properly. Nobody took that concerted effort to try to get a suit that fit smaller people.
"I think with the whole spacewalking suit it was kind of a boys' club,” said Nyberg. Undeterred by this wardrobe problem, Nyberg and her female colleagues persevered. "Most women overcame that and did the space walks anyway, but it was a struggle.
NASA has recently unveiled next-generation space suits that fit a wider range of body types, including women, and hopefully the suits will make space travel more accessible to a wider range of people.
Things have changed over the years now. NASA has now adopted diversity and inclusion strategy. "NASA HQ has an unwavering commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where employees are valued for their unique contributions to our common goal," it said in a statement.
(With inputs from Newsweek)
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