NASA head says first person on Mars is ‘likely to be a woman’ ahead of first all-female spacewalk

One small step for a WOMAN? Head of NASA says the first person on Mars is ‘likely to be’ female ahead of historic all-women spacewalk and plans to ‘stay’ on the moon

  • Jim Bridenstine did not name a specific astronaut in a radio show chat 
  • But said: ‘The first person on Mars is likely to be a woman. These are great days’
  • Astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch will go on the all-female spacewalk 
  • Today women now comprise 34 percent of the active astronauts at NASA 
  • Bridenstine said there will be U.S. astronauts on the moon in less than 10 years
  • And he added: ‘This time, when we go to the Moon, we will stay’
  • Statement came with news of Trump’s $21 billion fiscal 2020 budget for NASA 

The head of NASA has said the first person on Mars is ‘likely to be a woman’, just days ahead of the first all-female spacewalk.

Jim Bridenstine made the announcement during the science and technology radio show Science Friday. He also said the United States will have astronauts on the moon again in less than 10 years and this time, he says, ‘we will stay.’

And while the NASA Administrator, who was appointed by President Donald Trump last year, did not name a specific astronaut he said the agency is ‘committed to making sure that we have a broad and diverse set of talent’.

Bridenstine was asked whether women will be included in the agency’s next trip to the moon.

He replied: ‘Absolutely. These are great days.’ Bridenstine added: ‘The first person on Mars is likely to be a woman. We have the first all-female spacewalk happening this month at the end of March, which is of course, National Women’s Month.

‘So NASA is committed to making sure that we have a broad and diverse set of talent.’

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the first person on Mars is ‘likely to be a woman’

NASA astronaut Christina Koch will take part in the first all-woman spacewalk

NASA astronaut Anne McClain will join Koch on the spacwalk on March 29

NASA astronaut Christina Koch will take part in the first all-woman spacewalk

Astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch will get to float around in space for around seven hours at the end of the month. Jackie Kagey will be the lead spacewalk flight controller.

McClain and Koch were part of the 2013 astronaut class, half of which were women, and today women make up more than a third of active NASA astronauts. They will head up on March 29 to work on upgrades to the International Space Station.

NASA’s Stephanie Schierholz told Space.com: ‘It really is the luck of the draw. We feel lucky that it [the all-female spacewalk] just sort of happened to be in Women’s History Month.’

The first six women joined NASA’s Astronaut Corps in 1978, making up nearly 10 per cent of the active astronaut corps.

Solid rocket boosters for the Space Launch System will be stacked at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The photo shows one of the sections of the Solid Rocket Booster

Solid rocket boosters for the Space Launch System will be stacked at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The photo shows one of the sections of the Solid Rocket Booster

The NASA Administrator, who was appointed by President Donald Trump last year, said the agency is 'committed to making sure that we have a broad and diverse set of talent'

The NASA Administrator, who was appointed by President Donald Trump last year, said the agency is ‘committed to making sure that we have a broad and diverse set of talent’

A new $21 billion 2020 budget marks nearly a six per cent increase from last year’s.

We will go to the Moon in the next decade with innovative, new technologies and systems to explore more locations across the lunar surface than ever before,’ Bridenstine said Monday.

‘This time, when we go to the Moon, we will stay.

‘We will use what we learn as we move forward to the Moon to take the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.’

The plan, which has been in development over the last few years, relies on the developing Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, along with the Gateway orbital platform.

SLS and Orion are expected to be ready for their first uncrewed test flight in 2020.

Construction on Gateway – an orbiting lunar outpost – is expected to begin construction as soon as 2022.

 

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