List of female spacefarers facts for kids

Gathering of current and past female NASA astronauts at Villa Capri near Johnson Space Center, September 2012. Seated (from left): Carolyn Huntoon (JSC's first female director), Ellen Baker, Mary Cleave, Rhea Seddon, Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, Ellen Ochoa, Sandra Magnus.
Standing (from left): Jeanette Epps, Mary Ellen Weber, Marsha Ivins, Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Bonnie Dunbar, Tammy Jernigan, Cady Coleman, Janet Kavandi, Serena Auñón, Kate Rubins, Stephanie Wilson, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, Megan McArthur, Karen Nyberg, Lisa Nowak

The following is a list of women who have traveled into space, sorted by date of first flight. Although the first woman flew into space in 1963, very early in crewed space exploration, it would be almost twenty years before another flew. Female astronauts went on to become commonplace in the 1980s. This list includes both cosmonauts and astronauts.

History

As of December 2019^[update], of the 565 total space travelers, 65 have been women. There have been one each from France, Italy, South Korea, and the United Kingdom; two each from Canada, China, and Japan; four from the Soviet Union/Russia; and 50 from the United States. The time between the first male and first female astronauts varied widely by country. The first astronauts originally from Britain, South Korea, and Iran were women, while there was a two-year gap in Russia from the first man in space on Vostok1 to the first woman in space on Vostok6. The time between the first American man and first American woman in space was 22 years between Freedom 7 and STS-7, respectively. For China, this interval was almost eight and a half years between the Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 9 space missions, and for Italy, there was approximately twelve years between the STS-46 and Expedition 42 spaceflights.

A span of 19 years separated the first and second women in space. They were cosmonauts on the Vostok 6 and Soyuz T-7 missions. Though the Soviet Union sent the first two women into space, only four of the women in space have been Russian or Soviet citizens. However, British, French, Italian, dual-citizen Iranian-American and South Korean women have all flown as part of the Soviet and Russian space programs. Similarly, women from Canada, Japan, and America have all flown under the US space program. A span of one year separated the first and second American women in space, as well as the first and second Chinese women in space, taking place on consecutive missions, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10.

Spacefarers with completed spaceflights

#	Image	Name Birth date	Country	Comment	Missions (Launch date)
1		Valentina Tereshkova Mar. 6, 1937	Soviet Union	First woman in space. Youngest woman in space (aged 26). Only woman to make a solo spaceflight.	Vostok 6 (Jun. 16, 1963)
2		Svetlana Savitskaya Aug. 8, 1948	Soviet Union	First woman to fly on a space station (Salyut 7, 1982). First woman to perform a spacewalk (Jul. 25, 1984). First woman to make two spaceflights.	Soyuz T-5 (Jul. 19, 1982) Soyuz T-12 (Jul. 17, 1984)
3		Sally Ride May 26, 1951 died Jul. 23, 2012	United States	First American woman in space.	STS-7 (Jun. 18, 1983) STS-41-G (Oct. 5, 1984)
4		Judith Resnik Apr. 5, 1949 died Jan. 28, 1986	United States	Fourth woman in space, second American woman in space. First Jewish woman in space. Died in the Challenger disaster.	STS-41-D (Aug. 30, 1984) STS-51-L (Jan. 28, 1986)
5		Kathryn D. Sullivan Oct. 3, 1951	United States	Second woman to perform a spacewalk. (Oct. 11, 1984).	STS-41-G (Oct. 5, 1984) STS-31 (Apr. 24, 1990) STS-45 (Mar. 24, 1992)
6		Anna Lee Fisher Aug. 24, 1949	United States	First mother in space.	STS-51-A (Nov. 8, 1984)
7		Margaret Rhea Seddon Nov. 8, 1947	United States		STS-51-D (Apr. 12, 1985) STS-40 (Jun. 5, 1991) STS-58 (Oct. 18, 1993)
8		Shannon Lucid Jan. 14, 1943	United States	First American woman to fly on a space station (Mir, 1996). First Chinese-born woman in space. First woman to make a third, a fourth and a fifth spaceflight.	STS-51-G (Jun. 17, 1985) STS-34 (Oct. 18, 1989) STS-43 (Aug. 2, 1991) STS-58 (Oct. 18, 1993) STS-76/79 (Mar. 22, 1996)
9		Bonnie J. Dunbar Mar. 3, 1949	United States		STS-61-A (Oct. 30, 1985) STS-32 (Jan. 9, 1990) STS-50 (Jun. 25, 1992) STS-71 (Jun. 27, 1995) STS-89 (Jan. 22, 1998)
10		Mary L. Cleave Feb. 5, 1947	United States		STS-61-B (Nov. 26, 1985) STS-30 (May 4, 1989)
11		Ellen S. Baker Apr. 27, 1953	United States		STS-34 (Oct. 18, 1989) STS-50 (Jun. 25, 1992) STS-71 (Jun. 27, 1995)
12		Kathryn C. Thornton Aug. 17, 1952	United States	Third woman to walk in space. First woman to make multiple EVAs (May 14–15, 1992, Dec. 6, 1993, Dec. 8, 1993)	STS-33 (Nov. 22, 1989) STS-49 (May 7, 1992) STS-61 (Dec. 2, 1993) STS-73 (Oct. 20, 1995)
13		Marsha Ivins Apr. 15, 1951	United States		STS-32 (Jan. 9, 1990) STS-46 (Jul. 31, 1992) STS-62 (Mar. 4, 1994) STS-81 (Jan. 12, 1997) STS-98 (Feb. 7, 2001)
14		Linda M. Godwin Jul. 2, 1952	United States	Fourth woman to walk in space (March 27, 1996, Dec. 10, 2001)	STS-37 (Apr. 5, 1991) STS-59 (Apr. 9, 1994) STS-76 (Mar. 22, 1996) STS-108 (Dec. 5, 2001)
15		Helen Sharman May 30, 1963	United Kingdom	First British citizen in space. Second woman to fly on a space station (Mir, 1991).	Soyuz TM-12/TM-11 (May 18, 1991)
16		Tamara E. Jernigan May 7, 1959	United States	Fifth woman to walk in space (May 30, 1999)	STS-40 (Jun. 5, 1991) STS-52 (Oct. 22, 1992) STS-67 (Mar. 2, 1995) STS-80 (Nov. 19, 1996) STS-96 (May 27, 1999)
17		Millie Hughes-Fulford Dec. 21, 1945 died Feb. 2, 2021	United States	First female payload specialist.	STS-40 (Jun. 5, 1991)
18		Roberta Bondar Dec. 4, 1945	Canada	First Canadian woman in space. First Ukrainian Canadian woman in space.	STS-42 (Jan. 22, 1992)
19		Nancy Jan Davis Nov. 1, 1953	United States	Went to space with her husband, Mark C. Lee in 1992. They were the first married couple to go to space together.	STS-47 (Sep. 12, 1992) STS-60 (Feb. 3, 1994) STS-85 (Aug. 7, 1997)
20		Mae Jemison Oct. 17, 1956	United States	First African American woman in space	STS-47 (Sep. 12, 1992)
21		Susan J. Helms Feb. 26, 1958	United States	The sixth woman to walk in space (March 11, 2001). The longest duration EVA by a woman (8h 56m).	STS-54 (Jan. 13, 1993) STS-64 (Sep. 9, 1994) STS-78 (Jun. 20, 1996) STS-101 (May 19, 2000) STS-102/105 (Mar. 8, 2001)
22		Ellen Ochoa May 10, 1958	United States	First Hispanic woman in space.	STS-56 (Apr. 8, 1993) STS-66 (Nov. 3, 1994) STS-96 (May 27, 1999) STS-110 (Apr. 8, 2002)
23		Janice E. Voss Oct. 8, 1956 died Feb. 6, 2012	United States		STS-57 (Jun. 21, 1993) STS-63 (Feb. 3, 1995) STS-83 (Apr. 4, 1997) STS-94 (Jul. 1, 1997) STS-99 (Feb. 11, 2000)
24		Nancy J. Currie Dec. 29, 1958	United States		STS-57 (Jun. 21, 1993) STS-70 (Jul. 13, 1995) STS-88 (Dec. 4, 1998) STS-109 (Mar. 1, 2002)
25		Chiaki Mukai May 6, 1952	Japan	First Japanese woman and a first Asian woman in space.	STS-65 (Jul. 8, 1994) STS-95 (Oct. 29, 1998)
26		Yelena V. Kondakova Mar. 30, 1957	Russia	First Russian woman to travel in 2 different spacecraft, Soyuz TM-20 and STS-84 both were on trips to Mir Space Station, and 1st Russian woman to travel on the Space Shuttle.	Soyuz TM-20 (Oct. 3, 1994) STS-84 (May 15, 1997)
27		Eileen Collins Nov. 19, 1956	United States	First female shuttle pilot and shuttle commander.	STS-63 (Feb. 3, 1995) STS-84 (May 15, 1997) STS-93 (Jul. 23, 1999) STS-114 (Jul. 26, 2005)
28		Wendy B. Lawrence Jul. 2, 1959	United States		STS-67 (Mar. 2, 1995) STS-86 (Sep. 25, 1997) STS-91 (Jun. 2, 1998) STS-114 (Jul. 26, 2005)
29		Mary E. Weber Aug. 24, 1962	United States		STS-70 (Jul. 13, 1995) STS-101 (May 19, 2000)
30		Catherine Coleman Dec. 14, 1960	United States		STS-73 (Oct. 20, 1995) STS-93 (Jul. 23, 1999) Soyuz TMA-20 (Dec. 15, 2010)
31		Claudie Haigneré May 13, 1957	France	First Frenchwoman in space. 1996 flight as Claudie André-Deshays	Soyuz TM-24/TM-23 (Aug. 17, 1996) Soyuz TM-33/32 (Oct. 21, 2001)
32		Susan Still Kilrain Oct. 24, 1961	United States	Second female shuttle pilot.	STS-83 (Apr. 4, 1997) STS-94 (Jul. 1, 1997)
33		Kalpana Chawla Jul. 1, 1961 died Feb. 1, 2003	United States	First Asian American (Indian origin, naturalized U.S. citizen) woman in space. First Hindu in space. Died in the Columbia disaster.	STS-87 (Nov. 19, 1997) STS-107 (Jan. 16, 2003)
34		Kathryn P. Hire Aug. 26, 1959	United States		STS-90 (Apr. 17, 1998) STS-130 (Feb. 8, 2010)
35		Janet L. Kavandi Jul. 17, 1959	United States		STS-91 (Jun. 2, 1998) STS-99 (Feb. 11, 2000) STS-104 (Jul. 12, 2001)
36		Julie Payette Oct. 20, 1963	Canada	Second Canadian woman in space. First French Canadian woman in space. Would become Governor General of Canada.	STS-96 (May 27, 1999) STS-127 (Jul. 15, 2009)
37		Pamela Melroy Sep. 17, 1961	United States	Second female shuttle commander.	STS-92 (Oct. 11, 2000) STS-112 (Oct. 7, 2002) STS-120 (Oct. 23, 2007)
38		Peggy Whitson Feb. 9, 1960	United States	Most time in space (cumulative) for a US astronaut (665 days) Seventh woman to walk in space (Aug. 16, 2002, Nov. 9, 2007, Nov. 20, 2007, Nov. 24, 2007, Dec. 18, 2007, Jan. 30, 2007, Jan. 6, 2017, Mar. 30, 2017, May 12, 2017, May 23, 2017). Most EVAs (10) and most time spent on EVA (60 hrs 21 min) of all female space travelers. First female ISS commander (ISS Expedition 16).	STS-111/113 (Jun. 5, 2002) Soyuz TMA-11 (Oct. 10, 2007) Soyuz MS-03/04 (Nov. 17, 2016)
39		Sandra Magnus Oct. 30, 1964	United States		STS-112 (Oct. 7, 2002) STS-126/119 (Nov. 14, 2008) STS-135 (Jul. 8, 2011)
40		Laurel B. Clark Mar. 10, 1961 died Feb. 1, 2003	United States	Died in the Columbia disaster.	STS-107 (Jan. 16, 2003)
41		Stephanie Wilson Sep. 27, 1966	United States		STS-121 (Jul. 4, 2006) STS-120 (Oct. 23, 2007) STS-131 (Apr. 5, 2010)
42		Lisa Nowak May 10, 1963	United States		STS-121 (Jul. 4, 2006)
43		Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper Feb. 7, 1963	United States	Eighth woman to walk in space (Sep. 12, 2006, Sep. 15, 2006, Nov. 18-19, 2008, Nov. 20-21, 2008, Nov. 22-23, 2008). First Ukrainian American woman in space.	STS-115 (Sep. 9, 2006) STS-126 (Nov. 14, 2008)
44		Anousheh Ansari Sep. 12, 1966	Iran /  United States	Fourth space tourist and first female space tourist. First Iranian and a first Muslim woman in space.	Soyuz TMA-9/8 (Sep. 18, 2006)
45		Sunita Williams Sep. 19, 1965	United States	Ninth woman to walk in space (Dec. 16, 2006, Jan. 31, 2007, Feb. 4, 2007, Feb. 8, 2007, Aug. 30, 2012, Sep. 5, 2012).	STS-116/117 (Dec. 9, 2006) Soyuz TMA-05M (Jul. 15, 2012)
46		Joan Higginbotham Aug. 3, 1964	United States		STS-116 (Dec. 9, 2006)
47		Tracy Caldwell Dyson Aug. 14, 1969	United States	Eleventh woman to walk in space (Aug. 7, 2010, Aug. 11, 2010, Aug. 16, 2010). First astronaut born after Apollo 11 flight.	STS-118 (Aug. 8, 2007) Soyuz TMA-18 (Apr. 2, 2010).
48		Barbara Morgan Nov. 28, 1951	United States	First educator astronaut Originally part as a backup crew of the Teacher in Space Project. Oldest woman in space by the time of first flight (aged 55).	STS-118 (Aug. 8, 2007)
49		Yi So-yeon Jun. 2, 1978	South Korea	First Korean in space.	Soyuz TMA-12 (Apr. 8, 2008)
50		Karen L. Nyberg Oct. 7, 1969	United States		STS-124 (May 31, 2008) Soyuz TMA-09M (May 28, 2013)
51		K. Megan McArthur Aug. 30, 1971	United States		STS-125 (May 11, 2009) SpaceX Crew-2 (Apr. 23, 2021)
52		Nicole P. Stott Nov. 11, 1962	United States	Tenth woman to walk in space (Sep. 1–2, 2009).	STS-128/129 (Aug. 28, 2009) STS-133 (Feb. 24, 2011)
53		Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger May 15, 1975	United States	First Space Camp alumna to become an astronaut	STS-131 (Apr. 5, 2010)
54		Naoko Yamazaki Dec. 27, 1970	Japan		STS-131 (Apr. 5, 2010)
55		Shannon Walker Jun. 4, 1965	United States	First Native Houstonian to go aboard the International Space Station. She returned to space for her second long duration mission on 15 November 2020, onboard SpaceX Crew-1, the first operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.	Soyuz TMA-19 (Jun. 15, 2010) SpaceX Crew-1 (Nov. 15, 2020)
56		Liu Yang Oct. 6, 1978	China	First Chinese woman in space.	Shenzhou 9 (Jun. 16, 2012), Shenzhou 14 (Jun. 5, 2022)
57		Wang Yaping Jan. 27, 1980	China	First Chinese woman on long duration expedition. Sixteenth woman to walk in space (November 7, 2021) during Shenzhou 13. First Chinese female astronaut to walk in space.	Shenzhou 10 (Jun. 11, 2013) Shenzhou 13 (Oct. 15, 2021)
58		Yelena Serova Apr. 22, 1976	Russia	Member of ISS Expedition 41. First Russian woman to visit the ISS.	Soyuz TMA-14M (Sep. 25, 2014)
59		Samantha Cristoforetti Apr. 26, 1977	Italy	ESA Astronaut. First Italian woman in space and first Italian woman on ISS. Expedition 42/43.	Soyuz TMA-15M (Nov. 23, 2014) SpaceX Crew-4 (Apr. 27, 2022)
60		Kathleen Rubins Oct. 14, 1978	United States	Twelfth woman to walk in space (Aug. 19, 2016, Sep. 01, 2016) during ISS Expedition 48.	Soyuz MS-01 (Jul. 6, 2016) Soyuz MS-17 (Oct. 14, 2020)
61		Serena Auñón-Chancellor Apr 9, 1976	United States		Soyuz MS-09 (Jun. 6, 2018)
62		Anne McClain Jun. 7, 1979	United States	Thirteenth woman to walk in space (Mar. 22, 2019, Apr. 08, 2019) during ISS Expedition 59.	Soyuz MS-11 (Dec. 3, 2018)
63		Beth Moses May 29, 1969	United States	The first woman to make a spaceflight (US Department of Defense classification i.e. >50 mi (80.47 km)) on a commercially launched vehicle. The maximum altitude achieved was 295,007 ft (55.87 mi, 89.92 km).	VSS Unity VF-01 (Feb. 22, 2019)
64		Christina Koch Feb 2, 1979	United States	Fourteenth woman to walk in space (Mar 29, 2019) during ISS Expedition 59. Jointly with Jessica Meir, became the first two women to undertake an all-female EVA during ISS Expedition 61. Location: ISS (11:38 UTC, Oct 18, 2019) Greatest continuous number of days in space for a female. She returned to Earth on Thursday, February 6, 2020 after 328 days in space.	Soyuz MS-12/13 (Mar. 14, 2019)
65		Jessica Meir Jul. 15, 1977	United States /  Sweden	Fifteenth woman to walk in space (Oct 18, 2019) during ISS Expedition 61. Jointly with Christina Hammock Koch, became the first two women to undertake an all-female EVA. Location: ISS (11:38 UTC, Oct 18, 2019)	Soyuz MS-15 (Sep. 25, 2019)
66		Sirisha Bandla C. 1988	United States	Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations, Virgin Galactic.	Virgin Galactic Unity 22 (Jul. 11, 2021)
67		Wally Funk Feb. 1, 1939	United States	Mercury 13. First crewed commercial flight of New Shepard Oldest woman to fly to Space.	Blue Origin NS-16 (Jul. 20, 2021)
68		Sian Proctor Mar. 26, 1970	United States	American geology professor, science communicator. Finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Selection Process	Inspiration4 (Sep. 16, 2021)
69		Hayley Arceneaux Dec. 9, 1991	United States	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital employee, bone cancer survivor, who is now a physician assistant. First in space with a Prosthesis	Inspiration4 (Sep. 16, 2021)
70		Yulia Peresild Sep. 5, 1984	Russia	First actress in space, filming footage for a movie on Channel One Russia aboard the International Space Station.	Soyuz MS-19 (Oct. 5, 2021)
71		Audrey Powers	United States	Vice president of mission and flight operations of Blue Origin.	Blue Origin NS-18 (Oct. 13, 2021)
72		Kayla Barron Sep. 19, 1987	United States		SpaceX Crew-3 (Nov. 10, 2021)
73		Jessica Watkins May 14, 1988	United States	First Black woman on a long Duration mission.	SpaceX Crew-4 (Apr. 27, 2022)
74		Vanessa O'Brien December 2, 1964	United States /  United Kingdom	First woman to reach extremes on Earth (Mt. Everest), sea (Challenger Deep) and Air (passing the Kármán line into space.)	Blue Origin New Shepard NS-22 (August 5, 2022)
75		Nicole Aunapu Mann June 27, 1977	United States	First Native American woman in space.	SpaceX Crew-5 (October 5, 2022)
76		Anna Kikina August 27, 1984	Russia	First Russian cosmonaut to fly a Crew Dragon.	SpaceX Crew-5 (October 5, 2022)

Other astronauts and astronaut candidates

#	Image	Name	Birth date Death date	Country	Comment
1		Jeanette J. Epps	Nov. 2, 1970	United States	NASA Astronaut Group 20, "The Chumps", 2009. Epps had been selected for Expedition 56, set to travel by Soyuz MS-09 to the International Space Station in May 2018, but on January 16, 2018, NASA announced that Epps had been replaced by her backup Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor. Currently set to travel on Boeing Starliner-1.
2		Patricia Robertson	Mar. 12, 1963 Died May 24, 2001	United States	NASA Astronaut Group 17, "The Penguins", 1998
3		Nadezhda Kuzhelnaya	Nov. 6, 1962	Russia	Retired May 27, 2004
4		Marianne Merchez	Nov. 25, 1960	Belgium	Retired 1995
5		Yvonne Cagle	Apr. 24, 1959	United States	Retired with the rank of Colonel in 2008.
6		Christa McAuliffe	September 2, 1948 died Jan. 28, 1986	United States	Part of the Teacher in Space Project. Would be the first private citizen in space. Died on the Challenger, January 28, 1986. Mission launched, but did not cross the Kármán line. The crew cabin peaked approx. 70,000 ft (above the Armstrong limit)
7		Tatyana Kuznetsova	Jul. 14, 1941 died Aug. 23, 2018	Soviet Union	Retired 1969
8		Zhanna Yorkina	May 6, 1939 died May 25, 2015	Soviet Union	Retired 1969
9		Irina Solovyova	Sep. 6, 1937	Soviet Union	Retired 1969
10		Valentina Ponomaryova	Sep. 18, 1933	Soviet Union	Retired 1969
11		Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons	August 3, 1988	Canada	2017 CSA Group
12		Zena Cardman	October 26, 1987	United States	NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017
13		Jasmin Moghbeli	June 24, 1983	United States	NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017
14		Loral O'Hara	May 3, 1983	United States	NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017
15		Nora Al Matrooshi	1993	United Arab Emirates	Emirati Astronaut Group 2
16		Johanna Maislinger	1985	Austria	Spaceflight participant candidate
17		Yumi Matsutoya	1954	Japan	Singer. Spaceflight participant candidate to travel on Soyuz MS-20.
18		Pratiwi Sudarmono	July 31, 1952	Indonesia	Was initially selected for STS-61-H mission. Cancelled after Challenger disaster. Retired.
19		Sophie Adenot	1982	France	Part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group
20		Rosemary Coogan	1991	United Kingdom	Part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group
21		Meganne Christian	1987	United Kingdom	Part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group
22		Anthea Comellini	1992	Italy	Part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group
23		Sara García Alonso	1989	Spain	Part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group
24		Carmen Possnig	1988	Austria	Part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group
25		Amelie Schoenenwald	1989	Germany	Part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group
26		Nicola Winter	1985	Germany	Part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group

See also

• Chinese women in space
• Mercury 13—the Women in Space Program (WISP)
• List of space travelers by name—all people who have flown in Space
• List of space travelers by nationality
• List of astronauts by name—people trained to serve as spaceflight crew