When NASA launches its subsequent crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon this fall, the mission commander, astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann, will turn into the primary Native American lady to journey to house.
Mann might be heading to the Worldwide Area Station, with liftoff at the moment focused for Sept. 29. She might be joined on the Crew-5 mission by NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Company astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
NASA says this might be her first spaceflight.
Born in California, Mann graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and now holds the rank of colonel within the U.S. Marine Corps. She earned her wings as a Navy aviator and deployed twice aboard plane carriers, flying missions in help of fight operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She additionally earned a grasp's diploma in mechanical engineering from Stanford.
Mann was chosen by NASA in June 2013 as one among eight members of the twenty first NASA astronaut class meant to give attention to house station operations earlier than potential assignments to future missions to the moon, near-Earth asteroids or, finally, Mars.
In a latest interview with Indian Nation At the moment, Mann mentioned "it's totally thrilling" to be the primary Native lady in house. "I believe it is vital that we talk this to our group, in order that different Native youngsters, in the event that they thought possibly that this was not a chance or to appreciate that a few of these limitations that was once there are actually beginning to get damaged down," she advised the publication, which famous that she is an enrolled member of the Wailacki of the Spherical Valley Indian Tribes in Northern California.
Whereas Mann will earn a spot within the historical past books, NASA astronaut John Herrington, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, grew to become the primary Native American in house when he flew aboard Area Shuttle Endeavour in 2002.
Mann's NASA coaching contains intensive instruction in Worldwide Area Station methods, spacewalks, Russian language coaching, robotics, physiological coaching, T-38 flight coaching and water and wilderness survival coaching.
Mann has achieved quite a few awards, together with two Air Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.