Native American Woman Makes History With Successful Spacewalk

Nicole Mann, a Native American woman who serves as a NASA astronaut, made history by becoming the first Native American woman to travel to space last October.

Mann, a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Northern California, recently ventured out on a spacewalk with Japan's Koichi Wakata, KSAT reports. Mann, a Marine colonel, and test pilot, was launched into space by SpaceX last fall.

NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina joined her on the mission.

Historic Spacewalk

As part of NASA's efforts to expand the space station's power grid, the two astronauts installed support struts and brackets for new solar panels that will be launched this summer.

Mann and Wakata were both on their first spacewalk. Mann's accomplishment is significant because it not only breaks down barriers for Native American women but also for women in general in the field of space exploration.

On the other hand, Wakata is a veteran astronaut and the leader of Japan's spaceflight program, having completed five missions. During the shuttle era, he also played an important role in constructing the space station.

The astronauts completed the spacewalk without incident, and installing the new solar panels will bring additional power to the space station. This mission will make it possible to carry out further experiments and research.

The spacewalk is a significant advance in NASA's plans to broaden its capabilities in space and clear the way for future expeditions to the Moon and Mars.

It will be about a month before Mann and Wakata leave the International Space Station, but their contributions to the mission will be regarded for years to come.

More from Mann

While Mann will go down in history as the first Native American in space, according to CBSNews, NASA astronaut John Herrington, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, became the first Native American in space when he flew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2002.

Mann received intensive training from NASA in International Space Station systems, spacewalks, Russian language training, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training.

Mann has received a slew of honors, including two Air Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.

A Gift for the Space Community

This historic accomplishment of Mann's as the first Native American woman in space will inspire future generations of young people, particularly Native American girls, to pursue careers in the scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical fields.

The expertise and direction that Wakata has provided throughout his career will also continue to be valuable to the space community.

In other news, SpaceX and NASA have set Feb. 26 as the launch date for Crew-6, which will transport four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month mission.

As a result, the next SpaceX flight with astronauts aboard is expected to happen late next month, assuming everything goes as planned.

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