The Paper's reporter Nan Boyi
On October 16, China successfully launched the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and the flight crew consisted of astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, with Zhai Zhigang as the commander-in-chief.
Shenzhou 13 astronauts will stay in orbit for the first time for 6 months, which is also the normal stay cycle of astronauts during the operation of the space station. Female astronaut Wang Yaping will be stationed on the Chinese space station for the first time, and will also become the first female astronaut in China to carry out the outgoing activities.
On the journey of human exploration of space, there are many female figures, which have made important contributions to the deepening of human understanding of space. Today, let's take stock of the "firsts" among the female astronauts.
First female human astronaut: Tereshkova (USSR)
On June 16, 1963, the 26-year-old Tereshkova flew into space aboard the Vostok 6 manned spacecraft, flying a total of 70 hours, 40 minutes and 49 seconds, circling the ground 48 times. She was the first woman in human history to go into space.
The first female astronaut to perform a spacewalk: Savitskaya (USSR)
On July 17, 1984, Savitskaya entered space aboard the Soyuz T-12 manned spacecraft, which docked with the Salyut-7 space station, and on July 25 of that year, Sawitskaya performed an experimental welding process outside the space station, becoming the world's first woman to go out of the capsule (spacewalk).
The first female U.S. astronaut to go into space: Sally Ryder
Sally Ryder was born on May 26, 1951. On June 18, 1983, as one of the flight crew members, Sally Ryder flew into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, the first female astronaut in U.S. history to enter space and the third female astronaut in the world to enter space.
First black female astronaut: May Jamison (USA)
May Jamison was born on October 17, 1956. In June 1987, Jamison was selected as an American astronaut, becoming the first black female astronaut in the History of the United States and the world. On September 12, 1992, Jamison flew into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour and spent a total of 8 days and 7 nights in space.
China's first female astronaut: Liu Yang
A native of Linzhou City, Anyang, Henan Province, he was born on October 6, 1978. In March 2012, she was selected as a flight crew member of the Shenzhou 9 mission, and in June 2012, Shenzhou 9 was successfully launched, and Liu Yang became the first female astronaut in China to enter space. On February 1, 2013, Liu Yang was selected as the "2012 Chinese Sons and Daughters of the Year".
Longest-flying female astronaut: Shannon Lusid (USA)
Shannon Lucid was born on October 14, 1943. On March 22, 1996, Lucid arrived at the Mir space station aboard the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis and returned to the ground on September 26 of the same year, setting a record for the longest flight time for a female astronaut in 188 days, 4 hours and 14 seconds.
First female space shuttle captain: Erin Collins (USA)
Born on November 19, 1956, Irene Collins was the first female captain of a space shuttle in human history. On February 3, 1995, Collins flew into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. In 1998, NASA officially appointed her as the captain of the space shuttle, achieving a "breakthrough of zero" for women in this position. In July 1999, Collins flew the space shuttle Columbia for the first time as captain.
Japan's Leader Kotenjo: Chiaki Mukai
Born on May 6, 1952, Chiaki Xiang was Japan's first female astronaut to go into space, flying the Columbia and Discovery shuttles to space in 1994 and 1998, respectively.
South Korea's first female astronaut: Lee So-yeon
Lee So-yeon was born on June 2, 1978. In December 2006, Lee so-yeon was selected as an astronaut from a pool of 30,000 volunteers from South Korea. On March 19, 2008, the Russian Space Agency officially approved Lee So-yeon as a member of the 17th batch of expeditions to the International Space Station to enter space with the Soyuz manned spacecraft, becoming the first female astronaut in South Korean history to enter space.
China's first female astronaut to teach space: Wang Yaping
A native of Yantai City, Shandong Province, he was born in January 1980. On June 11, 2013, Wang Yaping, Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang flew into space aboard Shenzhou 10, and on June 20, Wang Yaping successfully conducted China's first space lecture with the assistance of Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang. With the successful launch of Shenzhou 13, Wang Yaping will become China's first female astronaut to go out of the cabin.
Editor-in-Charge: Xie Ruiqiang
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang