For the first time in history, an all-female team has made their way to space.
The team- NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir- made their way up to space on October 21st with the mission of fixing a broken part of the International Space Station’s power grid.
Pictured: Koch floating in space during the mission.(Credit: YouTube NASA)
NASA originally cancelled the spacewalk this past March, because they did not have spacesuits that fit the two women. Following much criticism, NASA made suits to fit both women and rescheduled the walk for end of October.
Since the beginning of NASA, there has been 350 selected astronaut candidates. Out of the selected 350, only 57 have been women. This all-female spacewalk has paved the way for more all-female teams to be sent to space and shows that the hard work other female astronauts have put in to achieve gender equality in the astronaut corps has paid off.
When asked about their mission on NASA TV, Meir said “What we’re doing now shows all the work that went in decades prior. All the women that worked to get us where we are today”.
While their have been women in space before, these two women made history by being the first all-female team to go to space.
Another huge thing to look forward too: NASA is planning on sending the first woman to the Moon by 2024!