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On Tuesday, August 21, Vice President Pence chaired the sixth meeting of the newly resurrected National Space Council, a group originally formed in 1958, which was dissolved in 1993 and resuscitated under the present administration to help chart the direction of space activities in the United States. Four invited panelists were highlighted at the end of the session. One of them talked about nuclear energy and thermal nuclear propulsion for spaceflight; we talked about in situ resource use on the Moon and Mars; and one talked about planetary exploration, from the Dragonfly mission to Titan, in particular, Moon Moon. All were interesting and appropriate topics for a meeting on the theme of the future of space exploration.
And then there was Saralyn Mark, a MD and a specialist in gender medicine, who talked about sexist prejudices. Its main point: NASA must – no joke – realize that there are gender differences, because sending "heterogeneous" crews to Mars will be difficult. At least I think it was his point of view. It was frankly difficult to listen to because already enough!
We have been sending very diverse crews into space since 1983. We had women doing every job a man did in space. Everyone. Walks in the space? Check. Commander of the shuttle? Check. Commander of the space station? Check. Record for long flights? Check. So what will be the new case of sexist prejudices that NASA has to start – beginning? – be careful of?
Oh, I could tell you stories of yesteryears about the original ideas of male engineers in terms of clothing and hygiene products for female astronauts. I worked as an engineer at NASA, then in the human factors and cockpit design group. And I was there to support our first women in space, but we're talking about the late '70s, the early' 80s. By the time I was flying in space in the '90s, these things had changed; they evolved, emerged, progressed and were accommodated for. At that time, a member of the team was only one member of the team. The same is true today. They get what they need physically, personally and emotionally to support them in spaceflight. Not a big problem. So why the insistence continues on manufacturing it's a big deal?
And why continue to talk about the story of NASA that does not make a space suit that suits a woman? The truth behind the cancellation last April of the "exit in the all-female space" was that it was a women's call! After her first outing in space, Anne McClain realized that the task of the next task would require a longer reach of arms than she had had. Of course, they could redefine the choreography for this spacewalk, take the time and effort to delay the mission, reschedule it and recycle it. "But why?" She says. Let your crewmate Nick Hague do it – he is trained and his reach is longer. Need a different tool to do the job? Go to the toolbox and get a different tool.
The crew never had the idea to make an exit in the entirely feminine space. They are all professional crew members, trained, hardworking and pragmatic. It's teamwork at its best, not a defeat for women. Nothing to see here.
Dr. Mark's great argument is that diversity requires attention, especially in situations such as spaceflight in which people must understand their differences and get along. Well, what about six men and women of the Space Shuttle or the International Space Station, representing many different nationalities, ethnicities and religions and, in their home country, competitive political ideologies? ? This is not enough diversified for you? NASA has been doing it silently, effectively and without fanfare for much of the past 36 years.
Following Dr. Mark's testimony, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine once again emphasized how his 11-year-old daughter would be inspired to see women take up leadership positions in space exploration. Well, Mr. Bridenstine, your agency has women who hold leadership positions on and off the planet much longer than you have held your current position. And there are female astronauts who live, work and run on spacecraft for decades longer than your daughter has been alive. Why is not she inspired by this?
I fully support the goal of landing American astronauts on the Moon and on Mars. I will be proud to brandish this flag. Because it's the only flag we should use.
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