(cross-posted from my blog, at http://gudbuytjane.wordpress.com/ )
Despite growing up being the weird artsy kid who played in punk bands and dropped science classes after grade nine, I have in recent years become a tremendous fan of science. Since then writers such as Ann Druyan and Eugenie Scott have engaged in me an awe and wonder at the beauty and complexity of existence and the degree to which we understand the workings of our universe. One field I find particularly fascinating is astronomy and space exploration (I highly recommend Dr. Pamela Gay's Astronomy Cast podcast for an example of how poetic and beautiful the discussion of science can be), because, to put it in my laypersons' vernacular, holy crap the universe is so freaking awesome, big, and old.
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova in 1963.
On Monday it will be the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing . I am fascinated that we went to the moon when we did, and the complexity and danger that entailed (essentially putting three people in a tiny tin can and exploding a nuclear bomb's worth of energy under them to get out of Earth's orbit). Really, you probably have more computer power at your disposal as you read this blog entry than the Apollo astronauts did trying to land on a moving rock 350,000 km away.
Watching archival footage, however, it is clear the moon landing was the endeavor of white men . So, when people remind you of the Apollo landing on Monday, remind them of the the many women astronauts and cosmonauts who have traveled in space.
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Valentina Tereshkova , the first woman in space, in 1963. Sadly, after Valentina it took twenty years for another woman to return, but since then the list has been growing.
Mae Jemison , the first woman of colour in space.
Ellen Ochoa , the first Hispanic woman in space.
Roberta Bondar , the first Canadian woman in space.
Svetlana Savitskaya , the first woman to walk in space.
Chiaki Mukai , the first Asian woman in space.
Judith Resnik and Christa McAuliffe , who died in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark , who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Yi So-Yeon , not only the first Korean woman in space, but the first Korean, regardless of gender! That's boldly going where no (Korean) man has gone before.
Women aren't just involved as astronauts, they are engineers, designers, and scientists. As we prepare to return , I am excited for a new generation of girls to be inspired , and to look up at the night sky and wonder if they could set foot our distant satellite.
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"That's boldly going where no (Korean) man has gone before."
The original Star Trek used the catch phrase 'To boldly go where no man has gone before.' With the progress we have made with neutraliseing language since the 1960s, Star Trek: The Next Generation used a different catchphrase: 'To boldly go where no one has gone before.' I grew up with TNG and much prefer that phrasing now.
If you are interested in Science history and gender I recommend Marie Curie's biography. If you are interested in Science Fiction, I recommend Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, a collection of short works by James Tiptree Jr. (a.k.a. Alice B. Sheldon). There is an annual award in science fiction called the James Tiptree Award, for the best sf dealing with gender issues (I'd call it the 4th most important annual award in sf). If you are into more modern popular sf that deals with the modern space program and want to read female authors there was a book called Gravity by Tess Gerritsen that I quite enjoyed.
Don't forget Eileen Collins, the first female commander of a shuttle mission.
Have you read Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight ? It is an amazing book about the women that trained to become astronauts at the same time the first male astronauts were training. It is one of my favorite books on this stuff.
Or Pamela Melroy, the second woman to command the Space Shuttle on STS-120. She was also the pilot for STS-92 and STS-112.
I wonder how big an impact it would be for equality if one of the Mercury 13 got to set foot on the Moon instead of Neil or Buzz on Apollo 11? Probably would have been huge. More than likely when we return to the Moon, the first woman will also walk on the Moon as well. Hopefully this will happen sooner than 2020 if Obama switches the Constellation program from the Ares launchers to the DIRECT launcher proposal.
Roberta Bondar was also the first neurologist in space!
She also could have gone into space sooner as a test subject, but decided to wait it out until she could get in as a researcher. Awesome stuff.
Recently, both the ISS and a Space Shuttle mission were both commanded by women. It was historical, never-happened-before kind of event; two woman commanders in space. Yet... it was business as usual in space. Odd as it may sound, I'm actually happy this wasn't pre-planned. On the other hand, they didn't really let the press at large know of this historical event.
Borea, I actually think it's better that way. At some point we will have to stop celebrating 'female firsts.' I'm generally of a mind that women doing a job should get recognition on the same merits as the men doing the job, if we make a big deal of them just because they happen to be women then I feel this sends the message that this is extraordinary.
In the past it certainly has been true that women have had to be extraordinary to achieve some of the same things that men did because of institutionalised sexism. However, if feminism is doing what we want it to, then that should be less the case with time. By celebrating every time we happen to get a combination of events that is a first for women we end up sending a slightly different message: that you still need to be extraordinary as a woman to achieve even as the sexist barriers are taken down. Ultimately I don't think that is a message we want to send.
I think it is more constructive to laud a woman for her achievements without mentioning her gender. It makes it seem usual, and when something seems usual in people's minds a big blow against socialisation is struck.
Don't get me wrong. When the first woman walks on the moon, I'll be talking it up as much as anyone. That will be an indication of the progress we have made. But when two women walk on the Moon together, I'll consider that business as usual (as much as walking on the Moon is business as usual).
I realised some time ago that I was actually more likely to know the names of the current female astronauts (I used to have a poster of Pamela Melroy on my wall) than the current male ones. When they undergo the same training and do the same jobs, I'm not sure that is desirable.