Actually, what I think is sad is that the NYT still feels it needs to focus on Koch's gender.
Women have been serving as astronauts and cosmonauts for decades now. The gender of any given spacefarer is not really "news" any longer.
This is not to say Ms. Koch will be remembered as well as the earlier male astronauts this article cites. As commonplace as female astronauts have become so too have we all become rather blase about space travel.
The excitement of the early "pioneering" days of space travel have, at least for now, receded into the past. Perhaps when humans venture to Mars and other unexplored regions of space will we once again celebrate the accomplishments of "firsts" whether female or male in gender.
2
I think of her as a great astronaut and a very accomplished human being, not as a woman.
3
Awesome. Simply awesome.
2
Wow! The record for the longest time a woman had spent in space is held by... a woman! Who woulda think it?
1
"...her long-duration mission opens windows of understanding... it appears that radiation affects women more significantly than it does men... NASA regulations restrict the amount of time that women can go into space...Ms. Koch’s long-duration mission is a marker that the agency is serious about making space available for everyone."
The above appears to condemn NASA for limiting women's time in space up to now. But if Ms. Koch has cancer 5 years from now, will the mission be seen as a cynical exploitation of her as a human subject?
1
when we get to the point where it's no longer necessary to point out the first that and the first this, then wake me up; we will be on the road to true equality.
2
She should be remembered as an astronaut that happened to be a woman with a brief mention of any records she set as an adult or woman.
If you remember her as a woman who happened to be an astronaut you are opening yourselves up to identity/social engineering obsession, entitlement, hurting both men and women in the future.
It is one of the reasons we have an ego maniac demagogue in the WH now.
Hillary did not learn the above lesson and made the fatal mistake.
2
@Paul
I was all with you, until you brought trump into it. Completely irrelevant to this discussion
2
@bored critic thank you for your reply, well yes and no...it is not directly related but indirectly related.
When you identify/social engineer obsess, you hurt everybody, offend moderates and open the country up to electing a demagogue like Trump.
1
And when she got home, she found out that no one had turned on the dishwasher.
5
Just want Commander Koch's article to register more comments, for her and her team to get more acknowledgement. Brava!
4
I'll remember her for wasting nearly a billion taxpayer dollars on pointless stunts.
No one needs to go to space, and no one should.
1
@Jonathan Katz Our world itself is threatened by our fossil fuel burning, but I'll bet every one of those space flights uses more fossil fuel than most of us use in a lifetime. It's done so that we can eventually colonize other planets, which we are not physically or psychologically adapted to thrive on, in terms of temperature, light, circadian rhythm, or just about anything else. Go figure.
1
Great article! One way to make her more of a household name would have been to use her full name more than once throughout the article. Mr. Glenn? Mr. Armstrong? Mr. Aldrin?
2
Where are Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tershkova?
First man and woman in space.
America is not the only country in the world.
4
I have found that Jessica Meir’s twitter feed from space is an absolute marvel, an ode to joy, hard work, hope, exploration, and all we have yet to know. It is a thread of light & grace, a vaccine against all things trump.
Thank you astronauts! My son & I watched two women fix a large battery in space and he barely batted an eye though I certainly impressed upon him why, historically, it matters so very much.
3
Ms. Kowal - thank you from a huge fan - I just discovered and devoured your lady astronaut books (over the last two weeks) - and LOVED them!! Thank you for writing this and other great pieces about women in space as well. I always wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, but growing up in India it just wasn’t something considered possible for girls. (Although I guess Kalpana Chawla was a few years older than me, and she did it - so just goes to show that anything is possible and I should have dreamed harder!) Thank you for telling these stories and I can’t wait to read the next book!
4
Now SHE is a woman who deserves the Medal of Freedom!! Thank you, Christina Koch, for your awesome accomplishment!!
12
@Izzy
What makes her accomplishment so "awesome"? Is it because she is a woman? If so, is that not sexist? Are you saying that the accomplishment of the most time spent in space, 879 days in total by Gennady Padalka, is less awesome because he is a man?
3
And hopefully one day we won't even need to mention a person's gender. Because just their accomplishments will matter.
7
@Peter
That day is today. To be celebrating this accomplishment because she is a woman is, quite frankly, completely sexist. And it's this thought process that continues sexism. We need to celebrate it without the reference to sex.
3
@bored critic
You're a guy, right? Do you make comments like this when a man wins the Shirt Ironing Contest?
1
@Chris M
"Actually the shirt ironing champion is a man."
That was the point!
1
Technically speaking the space program is a waste of time. Humans will be long dead before we travel any real distance in space. Anything we learn will be lost when humans go extinct. The technology that has come out of space travel has been satellites and military applications. so it will all be used for evil.
Humans need to figure out how to survive on this planet and put the dreams of being space travelers to rest until such time as we learn to live sustainably on this planet.
Ha, just kidding. Humans will overpopulate and consume everything because that is what our industrial overlords demand. There is no possibility that humans will last more than two hundred years, and a good chance it will be way less than that. Actually, there will be in great population loss in the next hundred years and then the rich will last another hundred or so while living in bunkers under the ground. What a great life for them. They will be so proud they survived to live in a hole.
2
@Chris
Not in a good mood apparently.
Exploration is more than just the technical stuff we learn it is also inspiration to reach and achieve what was once impossible.
We should definitely do more of that on earth to move away from unsustainable industrial practices.
The space program did a lot with earth imagery to enhance our understanding of global warming, glacier and forest losses … So space science YEEE.
2
@Chris
Not in a good mood apparently.
Exploration is more than just the technical stuff we learn it is also inspiration to reach and achieve what was once impossible.
We should definitely do more of that on earth to move away from unsustainable industrial practices.
The space program did a lot with earth imagery to enhance our understanding of global warming, glacier and forest losses … So space science YEEE.
1
The best news in forever. Real news. An amazing achievement. And well earned throughout a lifetime of education and hard work and breaking barriers.
6
Ahhh, news that speaks to what's great about humankind/science! Please do more reporting on NASA.
7
Thank you for this article! I read it to my six-year old twin daughters at bedtime this evening and we marveled at both the idiocy of *only one female spacesuit*, and the exciting eventuality of an all-female crew of astronauts. One of my daughters, a solar system hanging from the ceiling above her, said she was going to have to train very hard to join that mission. As she dozed off to sleep, I whispered quietly in her ear, “Blast off...”
50
These are the type of people who should receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom not Rush Limbaugh.
11
Give this woman and all her colleagues a ticker tape parade
3
I, for one, now have some new SHEROES.
7
Valentina Tereshkova -first woman in space.
8
I'll be happy when the first woman to do something is NOT noted as a woman. BUT untill then KUDOS! One small spacewalk for humankind.
8
"Perhaps we’ll see the first all-woman crew on the ISS."
I don't think that would be positive any more than an all male crew would be. Let's celebrate firsts in our strive for equality of the sexes while not forgetting equality is the goal, not domination from either gender.
3
I celebrate her accomplishments. We will be seeing and hearing more from her and about her.
While it's important to appreciate her accomplishments, it's also important that we fix the problems we have in our country and those of the world, as well.
If we can't tamp down the utter nonsense and hatred, there won't be anything to celebrate or cherish in the future.
2
Awesome feat Ms Christina Koch space walker. NASA is doing great but I hope they never aspire to send a manned mission to Mars or any other planet. I think it could turn out to be a Kamikaze mission with a lot of wasted billions. There is a lot to do in space and moon.
2
I've thought for many years that women were equal to men. But perhaps I've been wrong, that in fact they may just be superior to men.
2
@Porter. Point well taken. But it is actually statue and physicality. Smaller you are better adapted to space. Women have been qualified for decades but have lacked the "equipment" i.e. spacesuits. In space less is better than more. It is not about gender. Humans who can adapt in less . Physical.
3
As another poster pointed out, what about non-Americans? The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshokava. The second woman in space (1982) and first woman to do a spacewalk was Svetlana Savitskaya (in 1984).
4
Now THIS calls for a legit Medal of Freedom!
7
Nice job ladies
3
Great story! These women hold their own in one of the most mentally and physically demanding jobs imaginable. They are terrific role models for girls growing up today.
57
This is inspiring, thanks. I forwarded this story to my daughters. The sky is not the limit, girls.
64
The photo with Christina Koch and Jessica Weir, standing shoulder to shoulder wielding their space drills, fills me with enormous happiness, as if I am their proud Auntie.
Competence and confidence radiates from them. Well done.
You Go, girls.
85
Great article. Now NASA needs to start promoting women into upper management positions.
Trust if women had planned the first “all female” spacewalk, they’d have checked the sizes of the suits.
120
@Nancy Waites
Now NASA needs to start promoting women into upper management positions.
Ellen Ochoa?
3
I loved reading this. Happy that good science and role models are still available!
110
Many Purdue University (aka "The Cradle of Astronauts") are fortunate to know more names than alums like Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, the first and last people on the moon. Among the dozens of Purdue astronaut grads include three women who've served as NASA astronauts, and just last month, alumna Loral O’Hara graduated from NASA’s astronaut candidate program to its astronaut corps and is eligible for spaceflight. Thankfully, alums, students and local community members near the university (despite being in a "fly over" state) are fortunate to have direct and frequent interaction with alums who return regularly to Purdue to talk about their work and encourage the next generation of space explorers.
3
During her time in space, Ms. Koch has had the radiation exposure of nearly 10,000 x-ray exams from exposure to both solar and galactic radiation, for which we presently have no effective solutions to block.
She should be remembered as a courageous pioneer in testing space for harmful radiation effects on future women astronaut's physiological health, and risking her life to do so.
Not many people know this fact, but astronauts in the ISS are officially classified as 'Radiation Workers'.
Going to the Moon or Mars compounds this exposure by magnitudes.
23
Ms. Koch's accomplishments and the markers she has set down for others that follow will be remembered. Whether or not your name can be recalled by many probably isn't a major driver for those who would become astronauts. The kind of dedication and energy these individuals put into to achieve their goals is to be admired. The idea that you will be have the chance of not only going into space but living there for an extended period must be like a dream come true for them. Dreams come true for many people but most of us don't get to wake up in space.
5
Thanks. But America and TV crave "celebrity," not intelligence. For decades intelligent women have been seen as a threat.
As The Times has noted many times, the Nobel Prizes went to the men, not to their female partners, who were often more responsible for the work.
26
@george eliot
who were often more responsible for the work.
Proof?
Thank you! Sent to my sons to read to my grandsons AND my grandaughter!
3
People, you should remember Christina because she is probably the top candidate to be the commanding officer for Artemis 4.
8
I think the writer forgets the history!
The first man to fly into space was URI Gagarin and the first woman was Valentina Tereshkova .
Both Russian cosmonauts.
It should have said first American woman.
10
I am impressed with Christina Koch’s accomplishments, but still not convinced that the science that she and other astronauts have done in space justifies diverting resources to support a manned space program. I love science, but the only justification I have seen for the astronaut program is that the heroics involved might keep Americans interested enough to keep supporting the less expensive, but more important non-astronaut space program (Voyager, Hubble, Curiosity, Cassini, et al.).
Most of the science experiments that I read about in the referenced NASA article regard ways to make human space travel better: astronaut health, growing plants in microgravity, etc.
Example: “experiment examines how kidney health is affected by microgravity and other factors of space travel...will help protect the health of astronauts, and contribute to better treatments for kidney-related conditions on Earth.” But please tell us how you support that last conclusion.
“low temperatures...allowing scientists to study fundamental behaviors and quantum characteristics that are difficult or impossible to probe at higher temperatures.” Have not these temperature ben created in Earth labs at a fraction the cost?
“making human organs in space…because printing the tiny, complex structures found inside human organs...may be done easier in microgravity since it has proven difficult so far to accomplish in Earth’s gravity environment.” Difficult, but more so that supporting a manned space program?
3
@rtk25748 Certainly we can approximate conditions in outer space in expensive labs here on Earth, and get close to actual conditions with very expensive lab facilities. However, these women and men who work in space have signed up to be measured and sampled for many years to come with regards to their long exposure to these multiple health threats in space -- and that sort of data is nigh well impossible to replicate with terran only experiments.
If our aim is to eventually send many people off our planet, then pioneers who can venture there for awhile and come back are invaluable. One of the drawbacks of using a simulations-only approach is that we will fail to imagine everything that needs to be simulated, any of which could spell trouble to long-term missions to Mars or other long-term destination.
3
Hats off to these pioneering women, so proudly representing humans in space (other than Earth...and here, not always with a prudent behavior [doing what's right], witness Trumpian behavior in Congress, for instance). But I digress. This space walk is extraordinary not only because of it's prowess, but for the studies, i.e. plant growth, and the amazing atomic particle's chill in space that, eventually, shall benefit humanity. That is, before we go on, attempt to destroy mother Earth, by ignoring Climate Change.
3
It is a good article but.. I think that it would have been a lot better if the byline had been more exciting and turn it into the bigger story than the Iowa caucus. This event is huge in the history of space travel and for women. Imagine the impact reading the front page with Christina Koch leading the news. It would have been like Wow, she did that? Incredible! What a good piece of news in a moment when we all need better news.
4
One of the other astronauts mentioned in this story, Ms. McClain, is the one that allegedly committed a crime in space, right?
That's a pretty sweet "first" too.
4
@ETL
Clarify that, please. Not really fair to throw something like that out without mentioning what it was, as if it was really necessary anyway. The issue had to do with her divorce and nothing to do with being in space, or as you irresponsibly stated " allegedly committed a crime in space". Why throw shade on an amazing achievement, and a courageous, intelligent person.
Not nice.
3
Ms. Koch, when hearing that Trump was still president, requested to be shot into space for another year.
8
I could look it up, but how do you pronounce her last name-like the former Mayor or the conservative brothers or other? If we’re going to remember her name, need to know how to say it.
Perfect antidote to the rest of the news! Congratulations to Ms Koch and Ms Whitson!
6
I saw on BBC that she had landed.
I wish you had given us a bit of her background including education. For young folks knowing her education achievements itself would be inspiring.
I was fortunate to be on the steppes of Kazakhstan - some 5 years back - and coincidentally on 9/11 - to welcome one American and two Russians back to earth.
It's simply an awesome sight to see those big parachutes up in the sky.
And it seems like ever to extract them out of that awfully small capsule.
So, not only being up there but returning home safely - congratulations.
My only wish I wish I could do it.
Luckily, I have come close by flying in a MiG 29 to some 60,000 ft.
And have signed up for Bezos.
But astronauts like her make America great.
Hopefully, soon we will not have to depend on Russians as Uber.
1
....and Rush Limbaugh wins the Medal of Freedom for his achievements?
3
I especially liked the last picture in the article. Could it be that Koch is turning the outdated gender expectation on its head?
2
If you're objection is that people's actual achievements are subordinated to their identity, have a word with your editorial page.
Are female astronauts paid the same as male astronauts with similar education, training and qualifications? Or is the pay scale similar to the USA Women’s Soccer team who only get paid if they win a match... just wonderin’.
1
I suspect the title of this article is a little hint that there will be a question about her in this week’s news quiz!!
Wow! "...she also looked at how growing plants affects human community." There's a Nobel Prize waiting for that!
6
Truly inspiring.
3
What is your point? That it surprising women can accomplish those breathlessly listed in the article?
3
Thank you for this piece.
Too often we forget that space exploration is responsible for so many products, medicines, and solutions to problems that cannot be solved on earth. It’s important for kids to understand that astronauts are not simply riding a rocket into space for fun — they are conducting groundbreaking experiments that will improve life on earth each time they venture into space and they have to be pretty darn gifted scientists to do it.
And hello girl power! The All-female spacewalk is AWESOME to know about.
12
@Corrie
Wrong. Space exploration has contributed nothing to the sol7ution of any problem.
Don't believe NASA's lies.
Why must we continue to honor human achievement on the basis of gender identity, nationality and ethnicity? All this does is perpetuate the stereotype that it endeavors to debunk, or the under-representation that it hopes to remedy. Also, it diminishes the personal achievement by touting the individual's sex or ethnicity, rather than the fact that person has done something truly remarkable.
Yes, individuals still continue to take pride in their sex, ethnicity, or nationality. And in many cases, particularly for young people whose sex or ethnicity is under=represented among, for example, nuclear scientists, this pride is viewed as a means for providing incentive to achieve. While many see this as a very positive human tendency, I see it as one more way we make divisions among ourselves.
This kind of categorization makes it a "white achievement," a "women's achievement," a "gay achievement." Rather, if we tout it as a "personal human achievement," something accomplished by an individual member of a species WE ARE ALL A PART OF, regardless of our sex or the color of our skin, we draw ourselves together, instead of compartmentalizing ourselves into little boxes.
Okay everybody, now go ahead and slam me, based on whatever social or political ax you are committed to grinding. That will only confirm what I am trying to say. But I will continue to respect you nevertheless.
12
I read this article to my 5 year old son this morning. Thanks for this article.
2
It's amazing to me that, in naming famous astronauts, the writer did not turn to the one that immediately leaps to MY mind: John Glenn. But he is too far back in history now. Which also amazes me.
This is literally the first time in my life I have felt old.
4
And how about Alan Shephard ?
2
A wonderful piece about a woman's accomplishments that will make a difference! My palate needed cleansing after all the Shakira and Jennifer Lopez articles.
25
I enjoyed this essay very much, not least of all because I am the first American woman to have earned a Master of Science in Physical Activity for Health. Perhaps I missed it in the essay, but I do wonder how to correctly pronounce Koch: Should it be COOK or COKE or ?
4
@Present Occupant
Neither, Like former Major Koch of NYC.
Kudos to her, wish I could do that. And who knew iPhones work in space. One would think they could maybe make them waterproof too.
7
I can't tell if you're joking. Of course iPhones or phones in general can run in space. It's not like they run off of hydro power or something.
4
@Alex Actually, getting electronics to work in space is a non-trivial problem. Radiation levels are much higher than they are on earth and circuits have to be specially designed with this in mind.
7
Great story! I remember as a little girl wondering if I could be an astronaut.
Watching John Glenn circle the Earth (on a tiny black-and-white television), my heart and thoughts soared.
Never had the math smarts to pursue that dream, but am more than happy to live vicariously through Koch and Meir.
Pure joy.
14
Congratulations to those Great Women Astronauts and thank you for this inspiring story!
I always wanted to be an astronaut, but became an architect instead.
Still hope to design a Mars Space Station, thou!
13
It's comforting to see all of the experiments that will make living on earth better, safer and hopefully more fulfilling.
Planet Earth is our life raft. There is no Planet B. Let's take care of her. Peace.
20
Thank you New York Times!
The women in the article are inspiring and exemplifies the best of the best in our Country!
Thank you to all these women for inspiring us!
17
Would love to see an article that follows the astronauts through a typical day, checking experiments etc, with more explanations of how the experiments work and what they’ll tell us pertinent to life in space and back home on Earth.
Would also love to see a series which goes through all the things we learned from NASA and other countries’ space missions that are now helping people on Earth. That would enlighten so many as to just one of the reasons we need to continue exploring.
34
@KKnorp It is not an article, but may I suggest Scott Kelly's book Endurance: My Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery? It definitely gets into the details of time spent on the space station and some on the experiments.
10
Thank you for this article. Heroic and inspiring all at once.
9
Though I truly think this story is inspiring and I was excited to read it this morning, especially as far up in my newsfeed as it was, some of the language around ‘you should remember her for much more’ left a bad taste in my mouth, we should be remembering her for all of her accomplishments, equally. Putting some of her accomplishments above others makes it seem that JUST being a record holder isn’t enough. Also- in the daily briefing it states ‘Christina Koch returned today ..., a record for a woman.’ Using the term ‘for a woman’, a term that for generations and generations has been used to put women down seems like a poor choice...
10
Wow! Talk about the “best of the best!” Ms. Koch, Ms. Meir, and all those before, around, and who will come after — female and male — restore my faith that there are indeed still some “good ones” out there.
Down here, on the superficial surface world where most of us live, intellectual curiosity, hard work, honest accomplishment and expertise seem so often take a back seat to the loudest, the most crass, the most vacuous and venal among us. Ms. Koch is an uplifting exemplar of dreaming and doing truly awesome stuff.
44
Interesting article, but the author writes as if all the space pioneers were Americans. Just to remind your readers: first human in space: Yuri Gagarin,
First space walker: Alexei Leonov. First woman in space: Valentina Tereshkova. Longest simple stay in space: Valeri Polyakov.
89
Don’t forget the Russian German shepherd and the monkey. They gave their lives with no choice in the matter.
3
@M L ....Polyakov was male, too
1
In the view of The Times, the record-holders you named are not astronauts but rather cosmonauts. A space traveler from the Soviet Union or one of its former republics, or a non-American who travels in the vehicle of such a nation, is a cosmonaut and not an astronaut.
Some job titles depend only on the work being done — if you bake bread, you’re a baker. Others depend on the work and the gender of the worker, as with a person who waits tables and is therefore either a waiter or a waitress. And in the nutty Cold War-inflected language that The Times still uses and promotes, space workers’ job titles depend on politics.
2
Is it too late for Ms. Koch to run for President?
15
@Harvey
She is still young enough for a couple of elections, unless the republicans let Trump crown himself king.
Curious that in this panoply of female accomplishments in space, the author did not mention the first female astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova, in 1963. Before Christina Koch was born.
45
@Chris Noble nope. She was a cosmonaut.
1
Really? Female Astronaut? First?
No! Miss Laika, an excellent Cosmonaut, A Female, launched into Outer Space November 3rd. 1957. Then the first Astronauts were Miss Baker, a Naturalized Citizen of the United States, from Iquitos, Peru. Along with her was Miss Able. They launched from Cape Canaveral May 28, 1959. Miss Baker and Miss Able returned to Earth. She married twice. After George died she married Norman, and made sure everyone knew who was number one.
She ripped Her veil off at the ceremony.
Miss Able, died four days after flight, from the effects anesthesia. An autopsy found no reason biologically reason for Her heart to stop.
Miss Able and Miss Baker were on the cover of Life Magazine Jin 15, 1959.
Cosmonaut Laika died in space.
Note that Miss Laika has been a free dog, living on the streets. Until being recruited for Space flight.
Women have always been first in flight!
Human females are not the first Women in Space!!
2
It's always inspiring to contemplate those "firsts" (tinyurl dot com slash astro-firsts) even if other feats were more difficult. Well done.
Brian
4
Is it possible to highlight laudable accomplishments without undue references to gender, sexual orientation, political affiliations etc. Try it.
14
Plato — because, unfortunately, if these things are not mentioned, the assumption is that these accomplishments are assumed to be attributable to straight, white, men. How often, when you think of an astronaut (or a scientist or some other accomplishment) do you picture a straight white man?
Who does your son or daughter or granddaughter or other young person picture when they think of these roles?
49
@Plato That was the point of this article, which points out "But NASA regulations restrict the amount of time that women can go into space, because the sample pool has been too small to tell if cosmic radiation acts differently on women’s bodies. Ms. Koch’s long-duration mission is a marker that the agency is serious about making space available for everyone."
30
The first person that came to my mind was Ripley.
1
Your effort to highlight Christina Koch as a woman leaves a bad taste in my mind. She’s an astronaut with many great accomplishments and that’s good enough. What point are you trying to make when you keep mentioning her gender?
14
Maybe because it’s something that inspires other women? Is that still a bad taste for you? We like to see our heroes and possibilities being talked about as well, we aren’t always in the spotlight.
54
@JH "...NASA regulations restrict the amount of time that women can go into space, because the sample pool has been too small to tell if cosmic radiation acts differently on women’s bodies. Ms. Koch’s long-duration mission is a marker that the agency is serious about making space available for everyone."
12
When there are as many monuments dedicated to women in public spaces (with clothes on), when we have our faces on money, when we see women running governments and corporations as often as men do, then we don’t need to mention gender anymore:-)
Can’t wait!
43
This article is why I subscribe to the NYT. Thank you for this.
21
And yet it’s another person we have barely heard a peep about. Ahh, yes. She’s a SHE. Woman power! Spread the word.
24
Thanks to Mary Robinette Kowal for her focus on women in space!
26
We have been in space now for sixty years - the time when we would dole out credit for doing something that has been done for decades just because it is done by a woman has passed.
This sort of accolade is simply a bizarro version of misogyny - most sensible folks have long accepted that women can do anything in space that a man can accomplish.
Talented and accomplished astronaut - not talented and accomplished female astronaut.
13
@SteveRR as the article states, "NASA regulations restrict the amount of time that women can go into space, because the sample pool has been too small to tell if cosmic radiation acts differently on women’s bodies. Ms. Koch’s long-duration mission is a marker that the agency is serious about making space available for everyone."
20
i'd say all sensible folks have accepted it. trouble is, sensible folks make up less than half of the population.
2
@SteveRR kind of like “talented and accomplished astronaut who is a twin.” At this point in time “sensible folks” requires proof of the existence of sensible folks in sufficient numbers to continue the planet as we know it. That’s the next experiment. It begins now.
2
Looks like they also did empirical studies on the effects of microgravity on human hair.
12
@Ellen S - Great comment! My hair looks like that in the winter mornings, Static electricity wreaks havoc in winter.
6
I have always been taught and truly believe women are equal on all levels, so it is so confusing to see barriers reconstructed to celebrate our differences. I want to see a woman in the NBA. That is a day i will celebrate with my daughter!
5
Wow. Great work Astro-Christina. She makes me proud to be a human.
18
The author's article actually detracts from Christina Koch's accomplishments by cooing over the fact that she was part of the first all-female space walk -- as if it were a stunt -- but failing to mention Ms. Koch's prior education and accomplishments.
Here are a few things that should have been included in this article: Ms. Koch has a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, a second bachelor of science degree in physics, and a master of science degree in electrical engineering. She worked as an electrical engineer in the Space Department of the Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins, focusing on space science instrument development for the study of radiation particles for NASA missions. She was a NOAA station chief for American Samoa, was a research associate in the U.S. Antarctic Program for 3+ years, and completed a winter-over season at the South Pole. She was an electrical engineer in the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at the Goddard Space Flight Center from 2002-2004, when she was only in her early 20s. She won multiple awards while at Johns Hopkins and NASA. Ms. Koch is 41 years old.
287
@ALB -- I don't think it detracts at all. The entire point of the article is to discuss and encourage the public's emerging refocus away from both (primarily) remembering someone because of a record-setting event by accident of circumstance no less and (secondarily) the all-female aspect of the walks -- and toward a world where we look closer at meaningful and lasting accomplishments -- and regardless of the gender of those that performed them.
That's a good-sized ask for an article and requires quite a dance of verbiage to express accurately and in such a way as to minimize the inference you've appeared to have made.
25
@ALB Thank you! That is the missing piece.
6
As a surfer, we are proud to call Ms. Koch one of our own. She has taken pics of some of the most famous waves/locations from space and shared with the world on Instagram (@astro_christina). We are stoked to have you home Ms. Koch and thank you for everything you have done. You have priority on any and every wave you want from here on out.
67
“ She conducted research in microgravity on Mizuna mustard greens, examining the role of gravity and space on whole-plant health, cellular development and tissue growth. Perhaps most importantly, she also looked at how growing plants affects human community. Humans bond over food, and being able to grow food in space could be important to social dynamics during future long-duration crewed missions to the moon or Mars.”
Give me a break. The thing no one wants to admit is that these space missions, while impressive, are a waste of money and resources and a glaring example of the hubris that is destroying our world. Thinking about colonizing mars while our planet faces ecological crisis? Absurd.
What people forget is that it’s not just us, humans, that give our lives meaning. It’s all the things we share our planet with. Without those things—birdsong, streams, trees—we have no meaningful human life.
38
Most SciFi movies depict futue humans living in lifeless inorganic environments out in space. Without nature, that is certainly not the type of existence that I would want to be part of.
Furthermore, for future generations. They will not know the difference since they'll be born with technology thrust upon them at birth and nature, as we knew it, would be nothing more to them then digital pixels in their history archive databases.
8
You’re presenting a false dilemma. We have the resources to focus on space exploration *and* address the damage done to our environment. What’s lacking is the political will. Canceling NASA research missions won’t change that, but it would mean that we accomplish nothing.
72
Look past the word Mars and understand a lot of these research can be applied back to improving effectiveness and advancement of technological implementation. Think of F1 racing development and how those are applied to mass produced cars.
24
Impressive as any astronaut.
More so in some missions.
Not more so because is female.
Highlight accomplishments, not categories.
22
Perhaps they should have used a gender-neutral name and neutral pronouns in the article, Jane? Would that be satisfactory to you? I think not.
1
Thank you, Michelle. My thoughts exactly.
2
I loved this article because it included the actual science contributions and wasn’t just Look A Girl! But I still think it’s important to call out women’s progress here. Lots of girls out there still getting plenty of messages that science and space are men’s areas. Over and over women achievers cite the importance of seeing other women examples in their field, whether it’s sports, science, politics or business. I also think it’s important to acknowledge that Christina overcame challenges to earn her place that make astronauts did not. Agree that isn’t all to celebrate, but let’s not pretend gender didn’t matter.
107
Ms. Koch's achievements as a female astronaut are impressive by all means. But she is not a trailblazer - that belongs to Valentina Tereshkova, the Soviet cosmonaut, the very first female human ever sent to space, back in the 1970's.
Mentioning this wouldn't have diminished Ms. Koch's stellar performance.
In fact, it would have complemented it.
31
@waldo
The 1960s, you mean.
6
@waldo Find for us, clear and concrete evidence that the Central Committee of the USSR's Communist Party chose Tereshkova because they were pro-feminist.
It was in June of 1963.
1