The first Native American astronaut is ready to go into space

Nicole Aunapu Mann will be the first astronaut with indigenous origins on a NASA mission.He will lead NASA's Crew-5 mission.

• The cosmonaut is part of the Wailacki tribe who lives in the Round Valley area of ​​California.
• Nicole Aunapu Mann will be the commander responsible for all flight phases of the mission, departing in early October 2022.
• Mann will be the first Native American woman in space.The first Native American man in space was John Herrington in 2002.

“I'm proud,” she said Nicole Aunapu Mann to the news agency Reuters.The American will be there first Native American woman to go to space.The astronaut is expected to leave between September 29 and October 3, 2022 aboard a spacecraft that will carry her towards the International Space Station.Mann is part of the Crew-5 mission together with compatriot Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian Anna Kikina;of Wailacki origin, it is registered in the registers of the Californian tribes of Round Valley.“It was a long journey, but it was really worth it,” the cosmonaut said of her journey.

The story of Nicole Aunapu Mann

Mann was born on June 27, 1977 in Petaluma, California.She has a degree in mechanical engineering and he is a colonel in the marines.He served as a pilot in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and started working at NASA in 2013.The American astronaut is married and has a son."Often with my son we sit outside to look at the moon.I hope one day he will be able to watch mom fly and walk on the moon,” Mann told al National Geographic magazine.In fact, after the journey to the International Space Station, the cosmonaut is among the candidates they will take takes part in the Artemis mission towards the Earth satellite.

The crew members who will fly aboard NASA's Crew-5 mission are completing a 18 month training program to prepare them for the mission to the International Space Station for a scientific expedition.SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew from NASA's famous Kennedy space center in Florida.

She is the first Native American astronaut

“It's very exciting,” Mann said to the newspaper Indian Country Today.“I think it's important to communicate this to our community, so that they other Native children realize that some of those barriers that were there in the past are really starting to be broken down“.The cosmonaut said that in her personal baggage – each member can carry up to 1.4 kg for personal items – she will also carry a dream catcher that her mother gave her when she was young.According to the Indigenous Foundation association, the Dream catchers symbolize unity and provide protection.

The first native astronaut was John Herrington

In 2002, John Herrington, a member of the Native American population of the Chickasaw Nation, was the first Native American man to fly in space.He carried the flag of his tribe and a traditional flute in the period beyond the atmosphere lasted 13 days.Now it will be Mann's turn who, thanks to his journey among the stars, will allow children of all backgrounds to dream while looking at the stars.