Some women wait for a man to promise them the Moon and the stars. Others simply go and get them.
These are the women who don't dream about the sky from the ground — they strap into a spacecraft and head straight for it. For them, spaceflight isn't a fantasy. It's a calling.
Maybe I've always admired astronauts more than most. As a child, I was fascinated by everything about space travel, and that early wonder never left me. Because being an astronaut — and especially a female astronaut — must be one of the most extraordinary things a person can do with a life.
The questions that stay with you
How much courage does it take for a woman — so often called "the fragile one" — to trust herself enough to climb into a rocket?
How much does she have to fight, study, and prove herself in a world built by men just to reach that launch pad?
And what pushes a woman to make this her greatest dream of all? Has the man even been born who feels worthy of loving someone who has conquered outer space?
How proud must a child feel of a mother who has flown beyond the sky? And how many times does that mother have to describe, night after night, exactly what the universe looks like from up there?
1963: where it all began
Valentina Tereshkova came from humble beginnings. Her mother worked in a textile factory, her father drove a tractor. She left school early and followed her mother into the mills, becoming a textile worker herself. But even in her old photographs, you can see she was meant for something bigger.
She finished her studies in evening classes, and in her free time she took up parachuting — a passion that would change everything.
That skydiving experience became one of the decisive reasons she was chosen as the first woman ever to fly into space. Her call sign was Chaika — "Seagull." Today she holds the rank of major general, and her hobby, remarkably, is breeding pigeons.
She once carried the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony of the Winter Games. Her spaceflight lasted 70 hours and 50 minutes, during which she orbited the Earth 48 times. A crater on the Moon now bears her name.
The twenty-year silence
Because Tereshkova suffered from constant nosebleeds caused by the lack of gravity, no woman was sent into space again for nearly twenty years. The official reasoning? That a woman's body simply couldn't adapt well enough to the conditions of space.
It wasn't until 1982 that another woman broke through — the Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya.
She flew to space twice, and even more impressively, she became the first woman to perform a spacewalk, spending three and a half hours outside the spacecraft. But perhaps the most astonishing detail of all comes from her youth: at just seventeen, she made a free-fall dive from the stratosphere — more than 14,000 meters (about 46,000 feet) up — opening her parachute only at 500 meters.
Judith Resnik
I was fifteen, and I burst into tears watching the news report that a female astronaut had died aboard the Challenger. I still remember the footage of her smiling and waving before she boarded the shuttle with her crew.
Until that moment, an astronaut hadn't felt like a real human being to me — more like a myth, something almost untouchable. That was the day I understood both the greatness and the fragility of being human. Craters on Venus and the Moon were named in her honor, and asteroid 3356 carries her name too.
…and all the others
To date, 57 women have traveled to space through official space programs. The vast majority — 45 of them — are American citizens. And although the very first was Soviet, only three Soviet and Russian women in total have ever reached orbit. The most recent to join the stars was a Chinese astronaut, Wang Yaping.
But the age of space tourism is opening the door for many more. Soon, following in these pioneers' footsteps, ordinary people may find themselves among the stars. So ladies — the invitation is there for anyone who wants to see the all-knowing Moon and the glittering sky a little closer.
…and where no one has been yet
Mars may become the next great frontier for women. The long-term vision is to build human colonies there. The catch? There's no return ticket. Anyone who commits to going to Mars would have to live out the rest of their life on the red planet.
The plan is to send four people first, then forty, all after rigorous physical and psychological testing — with the whole expedition unfolding almost like a reality show. Which means that within the next thirty years, we could witness humanity's next giant leap. And once again, women will be right there at the heart of it.
Who was the first woman in space?
Valentina Tereshkova, a former Soviet textile worker and amateur parachutist, became the first woman in space in 1963. Her flight lasted 70 hours and 50 minutes, and she orbited the Earth 48 times.
How many women have traveled to space?
According to official space programs, 57 women have flown to space so far. Of those, 45 are American citizens, while only three came from the Soviet Union and Russia combined.
Who was the first woman to perform a spacewalk?
Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space, spending three and a half hours outside her spacecraft. She also flew to space twice during her career.
Will women be part of future Mars missions?
Yes. The long-term plan is to establish human colonies on Mars, sending four people first and then forty after intensive testing. Women are expected to play a central role in this next chapter of space exploration.
