Regarding space firsts; the first animals were fruit flies, 1947.
Followed by a rhesus monkey, 1948. A dog went up in 1957.
First human in space was 1961. The first human space walk was 1967.
I mean, congrats to the first all-female spacewalkers-
Jessica Meir and Christina Koch, but it seems to me like they are getting a "participation" trophy.
5
Why is this even a thing? I would much rather have women do this stuff than men.
If it's a absolute physical thing, sure. But it's not.
The real news is that this is news.
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@Thomas Sandstorm I don't know why it matters to you or anyone else whether it's men or women who do these jobs.
6
@kenneth Because many of us remember the days when this never would have been possible. I don't know why it matters to you or anyone else whether or not some of us enjoy something that brings us closer to the world we want to live in.
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@Eskarina1000 It doesn't.
1
About time!
Women tend to be more emotionally and mentally stable and secure and temperate by nature and nurture.
More bonobo than chimpanzee may be better for longer missions in space.
6
This amounts to yet another cynical PR stunt by NASA.
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@pinewood
Sure, but it's better than throwing billions away on yet another unwinnable war somewhere most Americans can't find on a map.
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@The Poet McTeagle
Why does it have to be either/or, as if neither/nor it is not an option?
1
@pinewood Wait. You're talking about a government project. A government overseen by the White House. And you're surprised by "a PR stunt?"
2
Give Trump a few days, and he'll be saying he took the space walk with them.
5
This is fantastic, another glass ceiling broken!!!
Now, if only we could drag the rest of the population — including the few obnoxious reactionaries cluttering up this article’s comments — into the 21st century with the rest of us.
5
Ms. Koch and Dr. Meir, what are you wearing this evening on your spacewalk?
Belanciaga Cosmos Couture.
2
Lots of commenters complaining that an all woman EVA team shouldn't be news. Perhaps it shouldn't be, but for many it is. Once a thing is accomplished, it doesn't seem like a big deal.
Why is it then, that when it comes to women in positions of power, like running the White House for instance, suddenly it's an insurmountable problem?
Gender should not be a huge issue, and yet it is.
4
Men have always had spacesuits that fit; women haven't, along with a lot of other things that don't work for us because they were designed strictly with you in mind, and that has been the case so long, it doesn't impress you. But this wasn't done to impress you. It was done to right a longstanding wrong. We now have two women able to do what you've done without having to break down doors. That IS news and I celebrate it. That you're not impressed is not.
1
I do not consider this article science. It is more in line as technology.
1
Years ago I read the book the Mercury 13. A privately funded program to train civilian women pilots back in the 50’s and early 60’s to condition and physically and mentally train to be astronauts. The Air Force and Lyndon Johnson refused to allow these 13 women to be astronauts. It took women in the decades since to prove their mettle to get the privilege to be NASA astronauts. Good job ladies.
3
I'm very surprised there are 65 sizes of gloves. Hands can be very different in size it seems, but 65?
2
Yes this is cool and should be celebrated. What takes the glow away from it is that it is an event that should be the norm instead of epic. Just as we should see our fellow humans without regard for race or color of ski, women should be regarded as just people instead of evaluating them based on their gender.
1
Presumably these two learned from reading the NYT that it is almost impossible for white women to get ahead in North America. I am glad that they found success in low Earth orbit, but it is a shame that they had to travel 255 miles vertically in order to escape sexism.
6
This was the first space walk where nobody pushed back if there was a suggestion to ask for directions.
I was alive when the first spacewalk happened, and when the first woman went into space. It’s wonderful to see another historical milestone all these years later.
6
Why is there no article such as "NASA performs another all-male spacewalk"? Necause it's not news. This is equally trivial. Women have been doing spacewalks for years.
4
When can we stop making the white
male the default human? Why does everyone who is not a white male need to have a modifier attached. First female astronauts to take a space walk together? I long for a day when people don’t have to be identified by their gender or race or religion. Because right now, if there’s no modifier, you can bet your life they’re talking about a white male.
5
what is the new technical or scientific goal that has been accomplished?
6
Two giant leaps for womankind.
Glad NASA was able to rustle up a second suit for them this time!
2
Congratulations, ladies!
Sorry, I don’t see how this event demeans or is patronizing to women, if only because it’s still somewhat unique. Gender bias today - puleez, I grew up in the ‘50s, when Mad Men was a reality not a show.
We still live in a world of patriarchy where gender domination is still prevalent and taught at home, in school (check your history books, misters). Young women still need to see role models. So, we’re not there yet. But every achievement by any gender should be shown and celebrated. I do hope ‘a change is gonna come’ but in the meantime, women need to keep showing their stuff like it happens all the time, because it does. And remember, acknowledgement of our abilities isn’t important to anyone, including men, until we take their job and start running the world.
3
Why did it take till now? When it’s all ladies, the bathroom line is SO long!
1
This would have been a big deal 45 years ago. Nowadays it seems rather blah.
2
Finally, Some Good News this week. Go Get 'Em Ladies!!
1
NASA should be closed. It is wasting dinosaur fuel, burins the planet, killing the future.
3
If you really think of it, It’s really condescending to use the term “ first female.....” . As in first chimpanzees....like we didn’t expect this to be normal or feasible! So did we waste taxpayers money to prove a point??!!
Why does the sex of the astronauts matter? If NASA squanders money on politically correct stunts, its funding should be cut.
7
Whoo-hooo! Only, what, 50 years after the moon landing? NASA should be ashamed of itself.
This is ridiculous. It makes it look as if woman are less competent and need special treatment. They aren't and they don't.
5
@MHW Less competent? How so?
2
But just think how long the bath room lines will be If all women...good gravy!!!
A long-overdue historic moment for women and NASA, tempered somewhat by the loser's typical thoughtless, fact-impaired, nepotistic inclusion in it.
Congratulations, Dr. Meir and Koch! I hope many more astronauts will succeed you in ensuring that historic injustices, and the loser, get "gently corrected".
"Pow, Alice ! Right to the moon !"
And then, oh boy, did that Honeymooner get his !
2
Now, if women could just rule the world. Oh, the places we could go.
2
Do an all female Mars walk. That'd be newsworthy.
1
About time NASA!
2
Great achievement! Now how can we shoot Trump and Pence into space?
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@paulm How, you ask?
Why, together of course. They deserve each other.
if your equal, act like it..
Congratulations ladies! you rock!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about breaking a glass ceiling!
2
Why is something like this still newsworthy? It’s such a lazy article—the first X to do Y. No reasonable person thinks that women and men are not equal.
2
@Jake Her obstetrician does. And that's reasonable.
So, we're supposed to be thrilled at NASA's long overdue 'catch up' with the diversity movement? Too little, too late. A nothingburger.
1
@Jimmy So start ignoring it, Jimmy. You've been obsessing about it all day.
I like how the headline is "First ALL Female Spacewalk". This is like watching sports and hearing how someone broke some absurdly specific record just so the announcers have something to talk about. Silliness aside, congrats to these women. At least some women are getting publicity for actual accomplishments rather than for the results of their latest collagen injections.
1
@Common Tater "...so the announcers have something to talk about."
announcers or "commontaters"?
It is great and congrats. But, I wish I had said it first and I don't know to whom the credit goes, but the best quote I ever heard was:
"...Equality isn't when a female Einstein gets as far as a male Einstein, it's when a female schlemiel gets as far as a male schlemiel...".
2
Why does the Times use "female"? It sounds like animals. They are over 18, so what's wrong with our words for adults--"woman" and "women"?
1
@Karen Davis sure. like men-bonding instead of male-bonding, men genes instead of male genes, male men instead of mailmen. (just couldn't resist that last one. sorry.)
I am sorry. Why is such a big deal being made out of this?
Women got a late start, but there have now been plenty of them up in space. We know they can do everything men can. An article such as this suggests that we should surprised at this event, when in fact NASA itself wasn't. It just happened to be an accident of scheduling until somebody pointed it out. The NYT article actually holds back progress and gender equality.
2
To those who object to this story on the grounds that gender should not be relevant, I agree: it SHOULD NOT be relevant. But sadly, it too often still is.
I'm reminded of a riddle I heard back in the 1960's. A boy and is father are in a car crash. The father is killed, but the boy survives but requires surgery. The attending surgeon takes one look at the boy and says, "I can't operate on this boy; he's my son."
Most people my age or older won't be surprised that many people were unable to solve this riddle fifty years ago.
So long as our expectations and assumptions are biased, I'll gladly applaud those people whose accomplishments serve to make riddles like this obsolete.
1
@hammond you're right. it's old. and besides, there's no attending surgeon on this expedition -- just a couple of GPs, one ophthalmologist, and an orderly with a urinal.
I know a lot of people want to discount the gender aspect of this historic moment. And I wish society around the world was at the point where that could happen. But it isn’t. So please, just celebrate this event and share it with the young women in your lives.
3
when are they going to get out and change a tire on the space station?
2
@AJ Inner tubes in Outer space. I love it !
Congratulations, you great ladies!
2
These women had not problem asking for directions. Guys would have continued until really lost.
@Jocelyn But would that Man in the Moon have given the women proper directions?
The male astronauts on the station provide backup for a spacewalk of this kind, just as the female astronauts have done in their turn when men walk outside the station.
No one achieves something alone in space, there is a team inside making any success outside possible. Kudos to the team on the station apart from the special attention paid by the press to a couple of its members.
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Yes of course DaveD. Because when the men are out spacewalking everyone knows and acknowledges all of the women working back inside the station.....//sarcasm\\
Please don’t rain on this VERY historic parade and achievement by insisting we thank the men back in the kitchen, as it were.
3
Looking forward to the first toddler in space next.
@John Doe He won't be available until Jan 20, 2021
3
@kenneth
But will they have a spacesuit that big?
Treating this as a special event is patronizing, if not insulting, to women.
Especially those who believe in succeeding through merit and qualifications.
Some friends even tell me they are made to feel they succeeded because of their gender. That is sad because these are some of the smartest people I know.
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@Bhaskar "Treating this as a special event is patronizing, if not insulting, to women."
Kinda like Mothers Day. Awful. Simply awful.
@kenneth
Mothers ARE special.
But not every woman is.
Simple. Awfully simple.
Give it a rest! These are highly trained specialists with years of preparation under their belts. We are fortunate to have them aboard the NASA team. Gender is irrelevant in these circumstances, and I'd bet a tidy sum that they do not want to be celebrated as females. If they want to be celebrated at all, it is because they accomplished a tough task under demanding circumstances, and their preparations, talents and skills paid off. Get off gender.
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This makes me wonder if I should phone the media when I have a professional meeting without any cis males present. To me it is just a workday, but it sounds like people would think we're breaking major barriers by using our education and experience to solve problems without men in the room.
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@K. Muir oh.
@K. Muir Excellent comment. Once or twice a week, I look around a meeting, and realize that everyone, from top executive to student intern, is a woman--simply doing business on a daily basis. And why not?
The male dominated NASA days are hopefully over for good.
So many woman contributed so much in all areas over the many decades that were purposefully not given any credit. Their achievements need to be put front and center in NASA history. Minorities as well.
Congratulations Astronauts Koch and Meir.
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@Hal and trans genders as well, I mean LGBTQRIA people invented space research and when will they get their due? NAASA ca no longer deny that women and gender strange people’s have been responsible for all progress? Let’s get it together!
1
@skyfiber LGBTQRIA The term gets longer and longer every year. Soon it will need a rest room of its own.
2
Women, the super stars of America today. Politics, science, sports, and the arts. Awesome.
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@Kevin Women, half of the human equation on Earth. Men, half of the human equation on Earth.
That's about the size of it.
Awesome.
If we can take gender out of this discussion (highly unlikely) then no matter what sex accomplished this they are simply doing their jobs. We desperately need to get past the "women can do anything" narrative and just let them do it.
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George I agree it would be best if we could ignore gender but sadly this is STILL a big deal. Imagine if people said “Well, she just cast her vote what’s the big deal?” Or “She’s just a Senator or Congressperson or Mayor or Governor, what’s the big deal?” Or “Meh! She got into Harvard...big deal men have been doing it for years!” When we actually have a well qualified woman president in the US that will also be a big deal.
Why? Because to women who have been marginalized and defeated and held back by actual laws against us, as well as conscious and unconscious discrimination in most areas of our lives, this is a big deal. Because now young girls and women can see examples of how far and how high they can go. Now, even the sky isn’t the limit.
When all girls and boys grow up on a level field with level opportunities and support and role models of equal brilliance and example, supported by equal pay, only then will achievements by women such as this not be a big deal.
I am also tired of these amazing achievements being called out as newsworthy simply because it was women doing them - and I am a woman! But at least this is some fabulous good news during a time when we are sorely lacking in that commodity.
3
@George I agree, George; but, realistically, I don't think the comments here are slowing them down.
There are many reasons for noting, labeling without stereotyping, and focusing on gender related events and outcomes. When written space is limited, or time for voicing, the either/or choice confronts us. When such limitations do not influence or hinder we should be sensitive to the ever-present dimensions of diversity. Each of these astronauts, IN addition to being female, of whatever gender identification, are also...and...and....
This article notes this when it describes the spacesuits and their selected measurement diversities.
The concept, value, norm of “diversity” is critical in a toxic, human-created, WE-THEY culture which violates, by words, deeds, laws, tradition, legacies, etc., daily, arbitrary, selected, targeted “ the other(s).”
Institutionalized discriminating cognitions, and feelings, towards...and about... all too often can be transmuted into eexclusion. Marginalization. Dehumanization. As well as other examples of ummenschlichkeit. These two well trained astronauts succeeded- or had they failed- in their tasks did so because they DID SO. Not because of their gender.
Consider: President Trump, the misogynistic racist betrayer of Kurdish allies, kidnapper of children,
amongst other acts, is not doing...Or saying...because of his gender.
Perhaps, just perhaps, because he is not MAN ENOUGH to be different.
Trustworthy.
Respected.
Caring.
Loyal.
To BEcome a mensch!
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@Seinstein "Consider: President Trump, the misogynistic racist betrayer..." With all due respect, I'll consider that another day. Right now I'm fascinated with THIS story.
Outstanding Job!
Setting the stage, and not to forget...'Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan an American geologist, former NASA astronaut, crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, was the first American woman to walk in space on October 11, 1984.'
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Aren’t we all tired of this “first” accomplishment stuff? Two people, who happen to be women, did what their job required.
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#groundbreaking
Truly, Howver, (no insults intended), I think a much better scenario would be an African-American lesbian and her Mexican wife. This noted, perhaps the best would be Enby and non-binary. That would (as Mohammed Ali said) "shake up the world".
Did you hear that, Saudi Arabia ?
In a true democracy, women are allowed to go even on a space-walk without male companionship, while you do not let them walk alone outside ! Or, maybe, things have changed in SA. Too little, too late.
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@mynameisnotsusan "Too little, too late."
Have you explained that to the Saudis? Did they agree to stop?
Nice to see some good news for a change! Kudos to them both!
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Psst. She holds a doctorate.... that means ‘Dr.’ not ‘Ms.’
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@Morgan
Times style calls for using "Dr." only for those with medical degrees. The Associated Press follows the same rule. So that means not every PhD in the country gets to be called Dr. -- which is a good thing, I say, since we naturally associate the title with people in the medical profession.
2
PhDs and MDs, and DVMs, are called “Dr”. Koch has a masters. Very accomplished, amazing space walk, just not a Dr. The NYT did it right. Great work to both of them!
@Morgan Lovely. Thanks. And now back to the rest of the story.
If Mier has a doctorate, she's 'Dr.', not 'Ms.' Women in science have to work hard enough; please don't strip us of our qualifications in your reporting.
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@Megan: Dr. has always been associated with medical doctors, it is the custom of our country. If you live in Italy or Mexico, every person in a certain economic bracket seems to be a Dottoressa or a Doctora, and some countries call every holder of an advanced degree a Prof. No one has ever called me a Batchelora, in any country. When I shout, “ Is there a doctor in the house?”, I am not looking for a mathematician. No one was being disrespectful.
1
@Megan I worked with several women who held doctorates. They didn't really care either way. Same thing with the men -- except for one who also taught German part time at a private school in CT. He insisted on being addressed as "Mein Herr."
Isn't it pretty much a given that women are capable of doing most things at least as well as men with the possible exception of certain tasks requiring physical strength? I think we also know that those tasks can be accomplished with some kind of mechanical assist. I think it's great that we have come this far in my lifetime. Still more to go, but better than it was.
So what's all the hoopla about an all-female crew doing what most of us knew was quite possible and even inevitable?
11
If you think sexism is dead in science, think again. We should celebrate every incursion into a male-dominated profession as a victory. The very fact that there wasn't a spacesuit suited for a woman, says it all. I can only assume you are not a female scientist.
2
@Glenn Thomas
The picture of them with their tools reminded my of the WWII poster of Rosie the Riveter.
Couldn’t help thinking they were modern-day Rosies.
So yes, we knew women could do these things a long time ago.
Nevertheless, thanks for proving that all over again, gals.
(Hope it’s OK to say “gals”; “guys” would just not work here.)
@Bill White
Since you are one of the few men making positive comments here, we'll allow it!
Thumbs up to to these Ladies! There needs to be a way that this country remembers them as an inspiration to future generations and a postage stamp dedicated to them would be a start.
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@Joe Lill yes, a postage stamp. Now there’s a forward looking idea... good gravy...
@skyfiber 'good gravy" "licking postage stamps"... a couple of mouth-watering thoughts.
Although this is newsworthy given the current context of our cultural bias regarding the roles women can play, the day that this is not a newsworthy item is the day that women will finally be understood to be equal. If only that day would happen i my lifetime...
14
Aren't we past this yet?
Why is it important that all of the astronauts on a mission were female?
The flight team is chosen by putting the best people for the mission on the team.
10
The flight team was indeed assembled by selecting the best people. And watching the video made me weep with pride. It is a landmark event to note and to celebrate, and hopefully it will be so normal in the future that it is not newsworthy. But today, my Mom called me because she was so excited and we marvelled at it all.
9
@David A large number of us still remember the days when this never would have been possible. Maybe you don't care, but it's significant to some of us, and we're enjoying the moment.
8
Please be seated, David. It's time everyone started being a little less cynical and celebrate everything we can. First all-women space walk. It's news, and good news, too.
6
We don't need all-female space walks. We don't need all-male space walks. We need no space walks at all.
Manned space flight is a waste of money, with no return. The current space walk is repairing a space station that exists only to give astronauts something to do, like fix it, and to inflate NASA's budget.
2
Congratulations to NASA for getting 2 spacesuits in the same size.
5
I'm curious about the choice of language: I'm assuming the astronauts were all humans, no dogs or cats; and we have a word for female humans; so why not "all-women spacewalk"?
1
@Gregory
To be accurate, not all female humans are women, some are girls, although all female humans sent into space were women, so far.
@mynameisnotsusan Therefore, since no one in this team was under 18, "woman" and "women." Period.
What a terrible waste of money. Congratulations to the women, but we have so many serious issues here. Can you imagine that money spent on education, homelessness, climate and the list goes on.
5
@Allene Gould
ISS is the most expensive object built by humanity, at a cost of about 100 billion $. The argument that money spent on large projects could have been better spent, on social and educational programs, has been made many times before, since the Egyptian pyramids, but the pharaohs quickly dismissed it ("It's my money and I do only pyramids with it"). Mankind has reached a tacit consensus that such an argument is naive (there is no guarantee that same money would not be wasted on something else) and narrow-minded (instead of food and education now for 1-2 generations, better to waste money on things that last hundreds of generations). I know that it sounds cynical, but it is called "vision".
1
@mynameisnotsusan It is also "vision" to imagine and promote a society where people do not starve to death, sleep on icy pavements, or die for lack of a medication it costs only a few cents to produce.
If you are sitting on a plane next to a woman who is traveling for work, and you ask her who is watching her kids, she is likely to get offended and respond that nobody asks her husband that question when he travels for work. So, out of respect for women everywhere, I am not going to make too big a deal out of an all-female spacewalk.
5
how about not asking that at all? one wouldn't ask a man because it's naturally assumed the wife would be watching them. so why can't you just assume that her husband/partner would be watching them?
4
@Paul Geoghegan The real question is who is watching these "female astronauts" kids!? Said NO ONE EVER.....
@Paul Geoghegan Actually, Paul, I did ask 2 women that on separate occasions, and they both gave the same answer: "I don't have kids."
Just like Obama’s presidency did not signal an improvement in the lives of ordinary black people, this event doesn’t signal an improvement in the lives of the average woman. It’s newsworthy to the news media only. I admit it is inspirational to women and to young girls, but it does not indicate an actual meaningful change for woman
5
Seeing women doing such coveted things that require training and expertise is inspiring because it means that for every woman who gets to do a space walk, there are dozens of others in the NASA ecosystem. Each female astronaut represents major institutional changes that expand the career possibilities for women. I find this exciting and encouraging.
7
i get that you're trying to be realistic about the overall state of society, but improvements in lives sometimes begin with the knowledge of possibilities and aspirations, of similar footprints (or shall we say steps) before yours.
3
Now THAT'S a power walk!
4
This should have been ahead of Trump’s latest drama. Congratulations ladies!
3
This is so cool. I once wrote a piece about NASA's Teacher in Space, Barbara Morgan. What a shame this kind of news gets elbowed out by all the drama surrounding the impeachment inquiry and such.
1
@Christopher What a shame "all the drama" has to exist in the first place. But it does.
Great professionals, doing great work and breaking through glass ceilings in the process.
Watch.. Trump will say.. hey.. I could have done that.. only much better... Bigly.
1
@Chuck No, he will not say that. He knows his limitations. But the fact that it may take years for him to conquer and rule the Earth does not faze him. He is a dedicated warrior.
"Ventured outside". ?? How about 'completed a space mission.'
4
@Barbara Two different aspects of the assignment.
Are we sure that their phone call to POTUS didn't include a stipulation that the funding for their return to Earth might depend upon finding the Clinton e-mail server floating somewhere in space?
3
@Glen No, The phone call was simply to thank him for the offer but remind him that he's a married man.
I think this is so cool!! Bravo, ladies! This is an awesome accomplishment. Let us hope NASA continues this fine work and promotes more female astronauts flying in space.
8
By criticizing that this is news people, I am guessing mostly male people, are dismissing and denying the very real barriers that are constantly erected to prevent women from having access to the same opportunities as men. Privilege makes other people's challenges invisible. I am grateful for all the work that went into making this all woman flight possible. It means that the next time two women step out into space together it will be less newsworthy.
13
@Susie Q " grateful for all the work that went into making this all woman flight possible."
And the best part may be that it was done by human people, not male people or female people but human people.
Sometimes progress does not depend on old-fashioned thinking.
Add Jessica Meir and Christina Koch to the growing list of contemporary women showing what women can achieve given a chance. Our society is still out of gender balance but high profile accomplishments like this help accelerate improving equality between females and males.
9
Congratulations! I am glad that we continue to see progress in space. I am sure they would have achieved it much earlier if given a chance. Never too late.
2
I'm somewhat surprised by all the negative reactions to this article.
Being an astronaut is one of the most physically and psychologically challenging vocations that any human being can pursue, and I don't see anything wrong with drawing attention to the fact that our women don't need hand-holding by any man to get the job done.
As for the reason for the article: It's because previously, NASA had not constructed enough suits that were properly sized for women to get the job done. The obvious take-away, is that the role of women in perform EVA-related tasks had not been given equal weight and consideration up to this point. Perfectly valid to report that his oversight has been addressed by the agency, IMO.
Mad respect for these two astronauts, some of America's finest. Bravo.
61
@Jason
Teamwork is important. Why should teamwork be belittled as "hand-holding" when the other team members are men, but not when they are women?
5
@rella in context, given our history of being late to the party in regards to women in space, previous walks with just one woman and a man could be seen as hand holding. Today is a big time net positive, let’s agree on that!
3
For one time, more than one woman can reach her dreams at the same time as another woman.
16
I am so envious of these two women!!! Excellent video!!!
9
What a colossal waste of money! Nothing good will ever come from all the money we’ve thrown at NASA.
Sincerely,
An American taxpayer who has written this comment on his iPhone, which relies on key technologies developed by DOD and NASA.
28
@Jeff Siegel There are asteroids floating around out there with frozen water that can be used in may way including propellant to hopscotch to other planets. The earth is a sacred place to be sure and must be saved from man's abuse but don't underestimate the value of exploration.
4
@Jeff Siegel
None of those technologies were developed by NASA, or its contractors.
2
@Jeff Siegel Someday, Jeff, when we learn what was gained by these ventures, we may be in a position to decide their worth. But not now. Neither you nor any other layman. Not yet.
4
Why us this news? The headline should read something like "Women's Career Paths Seriously Limited by NASA". Statistically, the chances that two astronauts chosen for a spacewalk are both women shouldn't be so low that this "milestone" hasn't been reached decades earlier. This is clear and obvious evidence of institutional gender bias.
9
@Brian Shouldn't be . You're right.
Meanwhile, it IS.
So I guess our feelings about discrimination or whatever belong in another story.
This one is about what happened today.
2
@Brian Not Anymore! Or don't you get that?
Some people are never happy with anything. Just negative and dark at all times.
As we continue to make "all female" events a big deal, we continue to exacerbate the problem.
15
I understand your sentiment here, but I respectfully disagree. I think this sort news is necessary to inspire our younger generations and challenge any existing gender perspectives that may limit their potential.
8
@glenn Exacerbate what problem?
2
Great even, and great moment for women! I only wish they had sent trump's call to voicemail.
22
@Anonymous 2 Agree!!! Trump treats women like second rate citizens. It would have been great if the call was never taken and the response was "technical difficulties".
I am sure Trump will find a way to take credit for women's first spacewalk.
1
Foe 71 years I have been listening to “the first woman to do this “ and “ the first woman to do that”. I will be very happy when we finally stop this. Women can do whatever they set their minds to do, even when chauvinists get in their way. Let’s all get over the wonder of it all that the little gal can actually do whatever. Why are we still astonished enough to make it a news story?
Yes, women work long and hard against all sorts of disadvantages but they do succeed. It should no longer be a big surprise.
20
@MJM So the "firsts" should not be noted?
@MJM Yep. As a "female attorney," I get really tired of being a "female attorney." (Hardly an astronaut, but I sympathize with my likewise-labeled sisters in all walks of life.)
6
I'd like to congratulate the astronauts and the support-team for their courage, their elan, their super-human abilities! It's not because they are women, it's because they were the best people for the job. And young women everywhere are getting the message.
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The problem with the noteworthiness of an all-female spacewalk is that it is noteworthy at all. If the space program were not sexist, there would be an equal number of women and men in the space program. This event should not have had to be noteworthy because the space program should not have discriminated in the first place.
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@Barbara8101 I completely understand your point, but would like to add that the fact that it is being shown and is newsworthy also carries a statement of what women are doing right now. Young women need this encouragement until it no longer becomes newsworthy.
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@Barbara8101
"If the space program were not sexist, there would be an equal number of women and men in the space program"
That's just not true. Is psychology sexist because it's disproportionally female? Is trucking sexist because most truckers are male? Maybe men and women have different levels of interest in different areas. Maybe there's also sexism at play. But you would rarely expect to have 50/50 sex ratio in a field when people are free to make their own choices.
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I can't see why this is a big deal. Women have been doing EVAs (extra-vehicular activities, a.k.a. space walks) since 1984 (35 years!), first Svetlana Savitskaya (USSR) then Kathryn Sullivan (USA). When people make a "first" out of every little thing, they cheapen the whole concept.
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@Publius On the other hand, when people make a "first" out of things those things get serious attention. Not a bad result.
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@Publius
I guess we all just needed some good news these days. It's great to watch two accomplished astronauts work in space instead of watching scantily clad celebrities do nothing.
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I have ambivalence about this announcement because it seems absurd to me that the first time this would have occurred is in 2019. Honestly I didn't realize two women hadn't yet been allowed to walk outside in space without the accompaniment of men. I just assumed.
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@Aaron : Really? But now three women have not been "allowed" to walk outside in space together without a man! Can you believe it? Nor four. Nor five. What is special about two? Women have been walking in space since 1984.
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Congratulations to these two women, NASA, and the press. Let’s celebrate the milestones of equality as we strive for an end to all discrimination.
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I find the experience bittersweet. I love that this is happening and celebrated.
I hate that it took 2019 for it to happen and I hate that this is news. But, 2016 showed me (and a lot of women) that while we feminists are constantly accused of being cynical, in fact, we weren't cynical enough, not by half....
In 2016, America elected a man who bragged on tape about sexually assaulting women with impunity. Instead of being in jail, he's the President. And we are cynical?
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Since the article is headlined: "Trump Calls NASA Astronauts..."
I cannot but help comment on the stark different between the competence of the astronauts that we were watching in contract to the cluelessness exhibited by the Trump as he tried to speak with the space station as well as the fact he seemed to believe that this was the first space walk by a woman as opposed to the first space walk where both astronauts working outside the station were women. That it was a all women space walk. Then there was Ivanka sitting there as obvious window dressing in the moment of women's achievement who contributed nothing.
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@Marie But you must admit that he is sometimes "spaced out."
@Marie Actually, I read a different headline here.
Nothing seems to be said that the director of mission is also a women as well as the commentator. It seems like there is an all female crew working on this
Just realizing that this is real, happening now, in orbit and not a movie is simply breathtaking. And while the ISS is just a small step into space it is remarkably large on the human scale. It is amazing that it is there by human efforts!
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I have been watching the live stream for hours. How anyone, both those in space and those on the ground, can do this kind of work is absolutely fascinating to me. My seven-year-old daughter is dressing as an astronaut for Halloween this year -- maybe she'll be at NASA one day. Thank you, Ms. Koch and Ms. Meir, and all the other trailblazing women in STEM, for being amazing role models for our girls!
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NASA needs to end the humans in space program. It is expensive, risky and there is no scientific payoff. There are other scientific ventures where the investment is lower and the payoff higher.
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@Rahul
No engineering or technological payoff either.
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Competent women can do the same difficult jobs men do. No surprise there.
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@larry bennett The most difficult job is taking the risk of being the first at something risky. At this point, spacewalks have been done many times and many of the risks have already been mitigated by others.
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And? That doesn’t dispute the belief that women are capable of performing difficult task on an elite level. If given the opportunity, they can continue to take riskier and groundbreaking steps.
The only thing missing from your comment is “men take all the risk,” but the tone is clear.
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Thank you, Andrew, for using “elite” in its original, positive sense.
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Leaning in, or leaning out? Confusing.
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I look forward to the day when headlines no longer have to say “first all-female” or “first all-black.” Equality, already!!!!
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@HH One small step.
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@HH
They don't have to say that now, if the headline writers don't want to, which they shouldn't.
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@Mystery Lits instead of being a negative Nelly, maybe just think about what this means for very young girls for whom the idea of an astronaut is still very much associated with a male figure. Not to discount the achievements of the many amazing male astronauts we have had— but that this is the first all female spacewalk in like six decades of space exploration IS notable!
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Still never has been a woman on the moon.
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@Scott I am 40 years old and there hasn't been a single person on the moon in my lifetime.
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@Scott
The point is? Women should have been selected for the Appllo missions 50 years ago? We should be going to the moon now? If they were any good they would have been to the moon already?
No one has been to the moon since 1972. Sadly.
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@Scott If going back to the moon in the name of equality is how it happens, I'm all for it lol.
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Very cool
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Love this! Amazing role models for young women...gives this senior citizen hope....maybe me in my next life!
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This is a great beginning for the validity that females can lead as equally as males in paving the way for discoveries of both new worlds beneath the oceans or the stars above.
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Bravo Astronauts Meir and Koch! You add to the pantheon of experience proving the capabilities of women when opportunities are not blocked or wrong-sized.
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Brava! May women rise to claim their equal power and opportunity in every realm.
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Who's the m... err, woman!
I hope this is being broadcast live to Saudi Arabian men and women - proving not only can women drive without a male relative chaperone, they can space walk and repair highly sophisticated equipment in space without a male relative chaperone. How many male relatives could chaperone a female aquanaut, let alone an astronaut?
This is proof that women can do anything a man can do - indeed MORE than men can do because men STILL do less of the work at home. Hence why we need a woman leader to care for our home planet.
International Space University, near Strasbourg, France? I would have thought such an institution would be located in America.
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Dear NYT, this article deserves to be at the very top headline before all politics. Your agency has the power to shape what’s more important and this piece is another perfect example. Thanks for your consideration.
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I grew up watching the earliest astronauts in space, back when every significant event was televised live and TVs were turned on in every school classroom so we could watch history being made. At that time, it felt as likely that an American woman would become an astronaut as that a man would give birth to a baby -- in other words, it was impossible. Many boys I grew up with fantasized about becoming astronauts, but no girls did. It was literally unimaginable.
So to see how much has changed in what women are allowed to do moves me in a way that's hard to express. And yet I also wonder: Why did it take over 50 years for this simple milestone to occur?
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@Nelle EngozIron I agree. It is very sad that so many decades have passed before this event could occur.
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If women had waited until they were “allowed” to do stuff we would all still be legally non-persons.
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I agree....I wept with joy seeing the video. It is an exciting and significant milestone that I have been wanting to see for my whole life.
4
While I commend the two astronauts for their history making feat, I am disheartened that two women, doing what they are trained to do still makes such big news. This obviously was not a matter of skill but of NASA being unprepared to equip its personnel properly. The amazing achievement will be when women are accounted the same respect, pay, equipment and opportunities as any other worker. When that becomes the norm, then we can celebrate.
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@Risa
This 'news' is part of the process of normalization of gender-equality.
When it actually becomes the norm, it will be so normal that no one will even think to celebrate.
That's why we celebrate today's step today.
Enjoy !
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My understanding is one of the women was scrubbed from the earlier spacewalk because her body lengthened beyond typical range, and NASA made the call to switch out the astronaut rather than adjust the spacesuit, which would have taken vastly longer. I also understand this same decision has been made many times regarding male astronauts, and nobody ever took it personally.
5
Bravo! It’s reading about amazing achievements like this that remind me of all the positives in this world.
4
So wonderful to read the paper and see happy, uplifting news. I think it is important to note and give praise for all the astronauts, in that they are treating each other as people and peers. So many male dominated fields harass women when they break into the field but these astronauts all seem accepting and happy.
10
Three cheers for NASA and these two extremely talented women.
Brilliant role models in a world that desperately needs role models.
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Brave, highly accomplished technicians and scientists doing important work for all of us. Well done.
If only we had people of similar skill and character in the White House and Senate...and that these so called leaders began to listen to the scientists.
As accomplished as these women, and all of our space and earth scientists must be, they must be frustrated at being ignored. We would all benefit if they were a bit less deferential and a lot more vocal...they need to be heard. Science must accept the responsibility to lead, and not accept being silenced or ignored.
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It is a gimmick, a waste of money. And it has been since 1969 when Armstrong put the foot on the moon.
Space station for what? An endless novelties costing big bucks that could be used for more substantial things.
There I said it.
Sorry ladies, nothing personal.
9
Progress has always been incremental. What is being done at the ISS has a purpose even if it does not directly benefit you today. Sorry that NASA has let you down by only sending a man to the moon when 50 years prior flying a plane was a gimmick. I suppose we should have mastered intergalactic travel at this point to keep pace right?
6
@Paul Wittreich I'll never understand the hate NASA gets from some quarters. If you need use case: water filters, memory foam, carotid artery imaging technology, cochlear implants, emulsified zero-valent iron (which was invented by another two women!), the insulin pump, and the Jaws of Life are all technologies made possible or made better by NASA research. Science is just like any other creative profession - when the mind is allowed to follow science for science's sake, you make wonderful discoveries that you weren't even looking for.
That said, to quote Ursula Le Guin, "What, after all, is the use of you? or of myself?"
Space exploration is one of the few areas where science, art, and philosophy overlap. To learn where we come from, what is the nature of time, space, existence, to understand these things not from the puny lookout of our own recorded history, but via the entire history of the universe... this seems to me not only a "substantial thing" but maybe the most substantial thing.
5
Man was jealous of birds so when the Wright brothers designed their plane the wings flapped like birds. Bleriot fixed this with putting small flaps on the rear of the wings.
So my conclusion is that man never thought of it as a gimmick but doing something like being like a bird. They could then roam the world like birds.
Great article!
How many astronauts does it take to change a battery?
Sorry. I’ll just let myself out now.
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congrats to both of them. Thank you for representing our country and having the best time in space.
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Amazing! Congratulations to these two incredibly talented people.
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@Christine Why the need to make this such a big deal? Many others have done the same thing many times over without any fanfare yet because both are women it’s front page news!
3
@jdcliff An underrepresented group doing something for the first time is front-page worthy — unless you're a me-first cloistered white privileged male who thinks that once they've done something, no one else need apply. Perhaps consider what it means to those of us told that — because NASA didn't realize that female astronauts had different needs than male ones? That this continues to be a problem IS, in fact, news.
3