INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
When NASA launches its next crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon this fall, the mission commander, astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann, will become the
first Native American woman to travel to space.Mann will be heading to the International Space Station, with liftoff currently targeted for
She will be joined on the Crew-5 mission by NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and
Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.NASA says this will be her first spaceflight, CBS News reported.Born in California, Mann graduated from the
United States Naval Academy and now holds the rank of colonel in the United States Marine Corps
She earned her wings as a Navy aviator and deployed twice aboard aircraft carriers, flying missions in support of combat operations in Iraq
She also earned a master&s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford.Mann was selected by NASA in June 2013 as one of eight members of
the 21st NASA astronaut class intended to focus on space station operations before possible assignments to future missions to the moon,
near-Earth asteroids or, eventually, Mars.In a recent interview with Indian Country Today, Mann said &it&s very exciting& to be the first
&I think it&s important that we communicate this to our community, so that other Native kids, if they thought maybe that this was not a
possibility or to realize that some of those barriers that used to be there are really starting to get broken down,& she told the
publication, which noted that she is an enrolled member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Northern California, CBS
reported.While Mann will earn a place in the history books, 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&s NASA training includes intensive instruction in
International Space Station systems, spacewalks, Russian language training, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training and water
and wilderness survival training, CBS reported.Mann has achieved numerous awards, including two Air Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps
Commendation Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.The post NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann first Native American woman to
travel to space first appeared on Ariana News.
