Who Is Nicole Mann? Astronaut Becomes First Native American Woman In Space

Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann made history and became the first Native American woman in space following a NASA launch this Wednesday.

The 45-year-old is the mission commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission and will spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS). Her first spaceflight launched on October 5, making her the first Native American woman in space. On Thursday, October 6, the SpaceX Crew-5 arrived at the ISS.

Who Is Nicole Mann?

• Nicole Mann is an American test pilot and NASA astronaut who was born in California.
• Mann graduated from Stanford University, the US Naval Academy, and the US Naval Test Pilot School.
• She received a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
• Mann and her crew boarded the Space X Dragon spacecraft with a course charted for the ISS. She is the mission commander, making her the female commander of a NASA Commercial Crew Program launch.
• The Crew-5 mission also consists of NASA astronaut John Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
• Mann and her crew will live on board for six months to complete their mission of conducting around 250 scientific experiments in the space station.
• The astronaut is also a Marine Colonel and the Navy aviator has flown 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has over 2,500 flight hours in 25 types of aircraft and 200 carrier landings under her belt.
• In 2013, Mann was selected by NASA as one of the eight members of a NASA astronaut class which focuses on space station operations.
• In an interview with Indian Country Today, the news enterprise that covers Indigenous people Mann spoke about how she was on route to becoming the first Native American in space and the first woman on the moon.
• She said, “I think it's important that we communicate this to our community, so that other Native kids, if they thought maybe that this was not a possibility or to realize that some of those barriers that used to be there are really starting to get broken down.”
• The SpaceX mission is a part of NASA’s larger mission under Artemis to go to the moon and eventually to Mars.
• Mann is a member of the initial Artemis Team to travel to the moon. If all goes to plan, she will become the first woman to go to the moon.

Suggested Reading: Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann Will Be First Native American Woman To Travel To Space