Readings | Links

Overview

Twenty years passed between the flight of the first woman in space, the Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, and the first American woman astronaut's flight. Sally Ride flew on the STS-7 mission in June of 1983, becoming the first American woman in space. When NASA first formed in 1958, only military test pilots were selected for the astronaut training program. Since women were not allowed in combat, no female astronaut candidates could meet that criterion. Not until 1972, when Congress passed an amendment to the Civil Rights Act stating that a federal agency cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, or national origin, could women enter the astronaut corps. In 1978, the first six women were selected for training as mission specialists.

Today, the number of women astronauts in training has increased dramatically. Almost every Shuttle flight includes at least one woman crew member. Shannon Lucid broke the record for number of days an American has lived and worked in space when she stayed aboard the Russian Mir space station for over six months. As more women fly in space, more physiological data can be collected, and any biological responses to microgravity that differ between the sexes can be determined.

Readings

Gender Related Issues in Space Flight Research and Health Care
Description: This report is from a workshop on Gender-Related Issues in Space Flight Research and Health Care. It dealt with the knowledge base of human space flight, countermeasures for maintaining crew health inflight and during postflight rehabilitation, as well as existing and proposed human-machine interface standards and requirements. (Posted on 12/00)

Sex, Space and Environmental Adaptation Workshop Report
Description: To address issues relating to sex-based differences in fundamental biology and biomedical science, NASA and other government agencies and academic institutions participated in a national workshop. The resulting findings and recommendations for research priorities for sex-based differences in six areas of biology are detailed in this report. (Posted on 05/04)

Links

Follow these links to view related resources in a new window.

National Center for Gender Physiology
This center at the University of Missouri is partnering with NASA to apply discoveries from space life sciences research to Earth-based health care.

University of Missouri Physical Therapy Department
Researchers here are using the NASA-developed hindlimb suspension model to study gender differences in microgravity-induced bone and muscle degradation. This research could benefit both astronaut health and the elderly.

Women in Aerospace
Women in Aerospace is a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding the opportunities for women in aerospace.

Women and NASA
This Web page features an exhibit on Women's Achievements in Aviation and Space, as well as links to related sites.

Women of NASA
This site provides career-related information on women working for NASA including profiles of numerous individuals across the agency.