Lead
In 1963, the first female cosmonaut of the former Soviet Union, Valentina Tereshkova, went into space on the "Tejas VII" spacecraft, which also became a major breakthrough in the history of astronautics, exploring the way for women from all over the world to enter the space field.
However, decades have passed, and the proportion of female astronauts has remained at about 10%, what are the reasons for this?
In today's world, space exploration is deepening, so what are the challenges faced by female astronauts in space exploration, and how should women respond?
1. The challenge of female astronauts.
Women have been underrepresented in space exploration, both in the U.S. manned space program and in astronauts from other countries.
The United States has the largest number of female astronauts, followed by the former Soviet Union/Russia, and then China, Canada, and India, which shows that women are very underrepresented in the space field.
The United States is the most developed country in the world in the field of space exploration, with only 12% of its female astronauts, and it is conceivable that other countries will have fewer female astronauts.
There are many reasons why there are no women in space exploration, but the main reason is that women are affected by social and cultural influences, which lead to women having fewer opportunities in science than men, and developing more slowly in the space field, so there are far fewer opportunities for women in space.
The underrepresentation of women in scientific research will also lead to the underrepresentation of women in the aerospace field, and people dare not compliment the strength of women in the aerospace field.
However, it is also not easy for female astronauts to live in space, the space environment is very harsh for people, and women have their own unique physiological characteristics, so the difficulties faced by women in space are also very huge.
First of all, women will be greatly affected physiologically and psychologically, after all, the space environment is very unfavorable to women's bodies, and some female astronauts will have irregular menstruation and pregnancy for a period of time after entering space, which will have a great impact on women's psychology.
Therefore, in the selection of astronauts, the physical conditions of women are very strict, and if women have these symptoms, this space mission will be canceled, so the task of women in space is very difficult.
Secondly, it is easy to feel lonely on a spacecraft traveling to and from space, and women are less psychologically tolerant than men, so the mission time in space will be shorter.
Since women usually weigh less than men, they will also weigh less in carrying water and food, but women have their own skin care needs, so women will definitely carry more supplies than men, so women's missions in space are also very hard.
2. Several outstanding women.
In the field of astronautics, there are still some women who have accomplished some amazing feats in space, and the deeds of these women are also very admirable.
In 1963, the first female cosmonaut of the former Soviet Union, Valentina Tereshkova, went into space on the "Tejas VII" spacecraft, which is also the anniversary of the world's first female cosmonaut in space, also known as "International Women's Day".
In space, Valentina Tereshkova not only completed the mission of orbiting the Earth, but also conducted a scientific investigation of the Earth, opening a window for mankind to explore the universe.
The former Soviet Union has always been at the forefront of space exploration, and they were the first country in the world to successfully launch a satellite, the first country to carry a man into space, and the first country to land on the moon.
Valentina Tereshkova's brilliant performance is also praised by the world, in addition, in the field of space exploration, women are also very represented, the former Soviet Union is also the first country in the world to have female cosmonauts, Svetlana Savitskaya, Valentina Lestova and Irina Solovyova three female cosmonauts are very good.
In 1978, Sally Ryder, the first female astronaut in the United States, entered space, and she also became the first female "flyer" in the history of American astronautics, and she performed a total of two space missions.
The second female astronaut to go into space was Jill Perrant, who undertook the STS-41-G mission in 1983 and flew five spacecrafts in the decade since, spending a total of 38 days in space.
In China, the mainland's first female astronaut, Wang Yaping, flew the Shenzhou 9 mission, and since then has flown eight space missions, and has carried out ten space flights in the following decade, spending a total of 50 days in space.
3. The needs of women in space.
Women's tasks in space are relatively easy, but women's tasks in space are also very hard, because women have their own physiological characteristics, and the tasks in space are very difficult like men's.
There are many challenges faced by women in space, the first is the female menstrual cycle, although the mission time in space will not be very long, but it will have a great impact on the female menstrual cycle.
Since there is no alternation of day and night in space, women's biological clocks will be greatly affected, and for a long time in space, women's menstrual cycles will become inaccurate, and even menstrual irregularities will occur.
Therefore, before women go into space, they need to control their menstrual cycles, usually taking some drugs to ensure that the mission in space can be successfully completed.
The second is the psychological pressure on women, people will have some depression when they are on missions in space for a long time, while women are very emotional people, so the mission time in space will be relatively short.
In addition to completing some scientific expeditions, women's missions in space have more time to be free, which is also a very good thing for women, after all, women are very conscious of the quality of life.
Since women's weight is only 80% of that of men, the things they carry will be lighter, but women have their own skin care needs, so they will carry more supplies, so NASA has specially developed a mask.
This mask is very convenient to use, just apply it directly to the face to clean, and it does not produce water vapor and does not dry out the skin of the face, which is very suitable for use in space.
NASA has also developed a kind of privacy for female astronauts, in space, female astronauts are very inconvenient in their private lives, so NASA has developed a privacy curtain for female astronauts in the United States, which is very light and can be carried around.
The task of women in space is also not easy, but the performance of women in space is also very good, and they have proved that women can also participate in the field of space exploration and make great contributions to human exploration of the universe.
epilogue
The representation of women in the field of space exploration can be said to be very weak, and if there are more women in the field of space exploration, it is also a reflection of gender equality, so there should be more women in the field of space exploration.
More and more attention should be paid to the needs of female astronauts in space, and support and safeguard measures for female astronauts should also be done in terms of science and technology and management.