Nicole Mann is one of 14 people currently in space, tying a human spaceflight record, but her story is unlike any others in history and will be an inspiration for generations to come.
Published Oct. 8, 2022 7:00 AM EDT | Updated Oct. 7, 2022 3:02 PM EDT
Astronaut Nicole Mann made history this week as she blasted off into space to begin an extended stay on the International Space Station, a celestial outpost orbiting 260 miles above the Earth's surface.
After breaking her Earthly tethers with the help of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday, Oct. 5, Mann became the first indigenous woman from NASA to go to space. Mann is registered with the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in California, according to NASA.
Mann, who was serving as the commander of the mission, was accompanied by NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina. The four-person crew docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, Oct. 6, where they will live for six months orbiting the Earth.
In this image from video made available by NASA, U.S. Marine Col. Nicole Mann, a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in California, enters the International Space Station from a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Her crew of four includes the first Russian to launch from the U.S. in 20 years and the first Native American woman to orbit the Earth. (NASA via AP)
Mann has been waiting nearly a decade to fly into space after being selected as an astronaut in June 2013 and has said she hopes that her mission will help to encourage younger people who dream of going to space.
"These young women, maybe Natives, maybe people from different backgrounds that realize that they have these opportunities and [that] potentially these barriers that used to be there are starting to be broken down," she told NPR's All Things Considered during an interview earlier this year. "And so hopefully that will inspire that younger generation."
Mann's groundbreaking mission also comes 20 years after John Herrington became the first Native American to perform a spacewalk, NPR said.
Wednesday's launch was not only significant for Mann, but for human spaceflight as a whole.
There are currently 14 people in space; 11 individuals are stationed on the ISS and three taikonauts are on China's Tiangong space station. According to the New York Times, this ties the record of 14 for the most amount of people in space at one given time, which was first set in September 2021. Previously, the record was 13 set in 2009 when Space Shuttle Endeavour docked with the ISS.
All 11 people on the International Space Station gather to greet the new crew members who arrived on Thursday, Oct. 6. Station Commander Samantha Cristoforetti holds the microphone with Nicole Man floating to the right of Cristoforetti. (NASA)
Nicole Mann and the other three astronauts on the Crew 5 mission are scheduled to live on the ISS for six months, conducting over 200 science experiments during their stay on the space outpost. These experiments include research on the human heart, studying the behavior of liquid in microgravity and observing changes in the cardiovascular system during an extended period of time in space.
“Missions like Crew-5 are proof we are living through a golden era of commercial space exploration. It’s a new era powered by the spirit of partnership, fueled by scientific ingenuity, and inspired by the quest for new discoveries,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
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