First Astronaut To Set Foot On Mars Could Be A Woman

NASA's first all-women spacewalk won praises and admiration worldwide. Now, NASA is planning to send a woman astronaut, who'll be the first human to land on Mars. "We could very well see the first person on Mars be a woman," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a report after the landmark spacewalk. If executed, it could be another milestone.

NASA Woman Astronaut On Mars

NASA is also gearing up for its next lunar mission after more than 50 years. The Moon mission might also see woman astronaut making a touchdown. NASA's administrator says a woman astronaut will be selected from NASA's current pool of active astronauts, who will be the first to land on Moon. NASA has not made any official announcement of the astronauts for the Moon mission yet.

At the same time, NASA is also working on its Mars mission. According to Bridenstine, the Mars mission might take off sometime in the 2030s. He noted that the Mars crew is probably too young to already be part of NASA's training crop at the moment.

NASA Women Astronauts

The NASA lunar mission - Artemis, is currently targeted for 2024. The mission sets the platform for establishing a permanent human presence on and around the Moon. The success of the Artemis program will further shape the Mars mission, set to take place a decade or two later. Additionally, private space agencies are also gearing up to send astronauts to space. Currently, SpaceX is working on its Starship Mars-colonizing rocket, which is pivotal to send NASA astronauts to Mars.

NASA women astronauts have been creating history in the recent past. The first all-women spacewalk took place last week and was led by astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. The number of women astronauts has been increasing over time. As NASA plans for more space missions, women astronauts are certainly gaining a foothold.