Nicole Mann: Astronaut becomes first Native American woman in space

 Nicole Mann: Astronaut becomes first Native American woman in space

An American astronaut has become the first Native American woman to go into space following a NASA launch on Wednesday.

Marine Colonel Nicole Mann, 45, is one of four astronauts who took off from Florida in the afternoon for the International Space Station (ISS).

The SpaceX Falcon rocket put them on their way to capture the orbiting outpost in about 29 hours' time.

Colonel Mann told the BBC he hoped the mission would inspire future generations of Native Americans.

“[I hope] this will inspire young Native American children to follow their dreams and realize that some of those barriers that are there or used to be there are being broken down,” she said.

"Whenever we're able to do something that happens for the first time, or hasn't been done in the past, that's very important," she said. "They have these opportunities."

A registered member of the Velaki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Colonel Mann has extensive experience flying a variety of aircraft for the US Marine Corps. He has been awarded six medals for his service and has been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tribes have long reported social discrimination that has resulted in economic hardship and low funding in their schools. According to the US National Center for Education Statistics, in 2017, only 27% of Native Americans received an associate degree or higher, compared to 54% of white students.

After completing his astronaut training in 2015, Colonel Mann had to wait to make his space debut.

She had previously been assigned to a mission in Boeing's Starliner capsule, but the vehicle was so late in service that NASA decided to pull her into "Crew 5", as the quartet became known in NASA/SpaceX parlance. goes.

Once aboard the ISS, Colonel Mann said the team has about 250 scientific investigations planned. These include helping to 3D print human cells for growing tomatoes and potentially doing space walks.

Despite being allowed to bring only a limited amount of personal belongings – such as her wedding ring and photographs – Colonel Mann told the BBC that she planned to remind her of her family's Native American roots.

"I also have a special dreamcatcher that my mom gave me that would be another little piece of my family to take with me," she said, referring to a traditional Native American decoration.

Crew 5 will temporarily increase the number of people living on the ISS to 14.

The remaining crew members include another American, John Kasada, as well as Koichi Wakta of Japan and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

Ms Kikina's participation - currently the only woman in the Russian Space Agency's Cosmonaut Corps - continues the current ride share agreement between Russia and the US.

The two countries have promised to take each other's astronauts into orbit, despite tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nicole Mann has accumulated over 2,500 flight hours in 25 types of aircraft

While Colonel Mann, Mr. Kasada and Miss Kikina have never been to space before, Mr. Wakata from Japan is a highly experienced flier who has already orbited four times.

Having previously flown atop three Space Shuttles and a Russian Soyuz capsule, he now joins a select group of astronauts who have occupied seats on three different crew vehicles.

All four are set to spend six months on the ISS.

His first week will be spent shaking hands with Crew 4, which will then depart for Earth on October 12.

The returning astronauts include Samantha Cristoforetti, Europe's first female commander of the International Space Station.