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Meet the Female Astronaut Candidates

July 20th is the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. An excellent opportunity to have a look at the most promising and most experienced female astronaut candidates. Here is our top list – full speed ahead

Alyssa Carson

The Future Mars Walker

Age: 18
Country: USA

Profile: Alyssa Carson is the youngest applicant ever to apply to the International Space University’s masters in space science program. At only 18 years old, Alyssa is an astronaut in training, a global speaker, author, and a future Mars walker. Her book, So You Want to be an Astronaut – A Realistic Guide to Become an Astronaut at a Young Age, was published last year. She studied math and science at the Baton Rouge International School and received a professional certification in applied astronautics, the only program of its type in the world enabling publishable, peer-reviewed scientific research in the fields of aeronomy, bioastronautics, mission design, operations, and science education.

What she says: “Thankful for all the past women pioneers who have lead the way and from their example hopefully we will continue getting more women involved in not only becoming astronauts but the tens of thousands of space-related jobs.”

Bethany Downer

The Cosmos Communicator

Age: 25
Country: Canada

Profile: Bethany Downer is the youngest-ever recipient of Memorial University's Horizon Alumni award, which she received in 2018, and has twice been named one of Canada's Top 30 Under 30. She was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland, and currently manages the outreach of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope for the European Space Agency. Additionally, she is the communications coordinator for the Space Generation Advisory Council for the United Nations Program on Space Applications. Bethany received her Bachelor of Science from Memorial University before acquiring her master’s in space studies from the International Space University. Bethany is also the first scientist-astronaut candidate from Newfoundland as part of the first and only crewed suborbital research program that studies the upper mesosphere through polar suborbital research called Project PoSSUM.

What she says: “I strongly believe that visibility is important for inspiring the next generation of space explorers and therefore it is of integral importance that female astronauts are equally represented beside their male peers, both within the industry and to the general public. It will be critical to have fair representation of female astronauts for upcoming space missions, including those to the Moon and Mars.”

Dr. Insa Thiele-Eich

The Born Astronaut

Age: 36
Country: Germany

Profile: Dr. Insa Thiele-Eich was born in Heidelberg 1983 to former astronaut Gerhard Thiele. She is a meteorologist and scientific co-ordinator at the Meteorological Institute of the University of Bonn, which conducts basic research for improved weather and climate predictions. The focus of her work is the investigation of the meteorological exchange processes, such as water or energy exchange between soil, vegetation, and atmosphere. In her doctoral thesis, she analyzed the effects of climate change on Bangladesh. She is the other of the two female astronauts from Germany to be sent on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by 2020. A mother of three children, she loves to run, climb, and does photography in her spare time.

What she says: "What fascinates me about the profession of an astronaut is, of course, flying into space, which is the icing on the cake of everyday work life. But I also find the training in advance particularly exciting, because in few other professions do you have the chance to test your physical and mental limits on a regular basis. There are also practical reasons why it is so important for women to play a role in space travel – for example, a female body reacts quite differently to reduced gravity. In many scientific fields or in medicine men do research for men. As a result, half of society is not taken into account - in space, but especially on Earth."

Dr. Shawna Pandya

The All-Rounder

Age: 34
Country: Canada (Indian origin)

Profile: Dr. Shawna Pandya is a citizen-scientist astronaut candidate with Project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere), physician, speaker, martial artist, advanced diver, skydiver, and pilot-in-training. She holds degrees in neuroscience, space, entrepreneurship, and medicine, and is currently completing a fellowship in wilderness medicine. In 2015, Dr. Pandya completed scientist-astronaut candidate training with Project PoSSUM and was part of the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity; her work with the project and Final Frontier Design was captured in the CBC Documentary, “We Are Canada.” She has completed over 100 parabolas in microgravity to date. Dr. Pandya also completed a 2-week tour at the Mars Desert Research Station analog in Utah as the crew health and safety officer. In her spare time, she practices taekwondo (as a second-degree black belt) and muay thai. Dr. Pandya also sings and plays the piano.

What she says: “Curiosity and the drive to discover is a fundamental part of human nature, and space is the ultimate extension of this basal human trait. I truly believe this, and this is what drives me – to help humanity secure its place is amongst the stars - all seven billion of us: man, woman, and child.”

Dr. Suzanna Randall

The Explorer

Age: 40
Country: Germany

Profile: Suzanna Randall was born in Cologne in 1979, is an astrophysicist, and works at the European Southern Observatory in Garching, near Munich. She is concerned with the evolution of stars and is part of the ALMA project in Chile. She studied astronomy at the University of London and has a doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Montreal, Canada. During her career, the 40-year-old astronomer has lived and worked on three continents. She is one of two female astronauts from Germany to be sent on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by 2020. She currently lives in Munich and in her spare time enjoys paragliding, mountaineering, diving, playing the piano, and singing in a choir.

What she says: “There is an explorer in me. I always wanted to see something new, to advance things, to broaden horizons. There was a key experience: At the age of nine, I saw a picture of Phobos in the newspaper. And that's when my fascination for outer space began. I wanted to become an astronaut. We need more women in this area because the technological and scientific areas have a big impact. This is where the future is shaped, and women must have the chance to be a part of it.”

Dr. Ulyana Nadia Horodyskyj

The Galaxy Hitchhiker

Age: 33
Country: USA (Ukrainian roots)

Profile: Ulyana N. Horodyskyj was one of 120 semi finalists out of 18,354 applicants for NASA's 2017 astronaut class. She completed her Ph.D in geological & Earth sciences/geosciences and, in October 2015, graduated from Project PoSSUM. Ulyana was chosen as mission commander for the NASA Johnson Space Center's HERA XII (Human Exploration Research Analog), a 30-day isolation experiment simulating a long-duration mission to an asteroid. In addition to this, she is the founder and owner of Science in the Wild, an adventure citizen science company that specializes in getting people out on extraordinary experiences around the world. She has led expeditions to the Himalayas, Andes, Canadian Arctic, and Tanzania (Kilimanjaro), and has hiked 42 peaks and highpoints. Ulyana was named one of the "world's most adventurous women" by Men's Journal in January 2019.

What she says: "I'm excited to be a part of this new frontier in space - with women and men working alongside each other, as professionals and citizen scientists, taking those next big steps - for all of humankind."

Dr. Yajaira Sierra Sastre

The Researcher

Age: 42
Country: Puerto Rico

Profile: Dr. Yajaira Sierra-Sastre aspires to become the first Puerto Rican woman to fly to space. She is a materials scientist and informal science educator with more than fifteen years of R&D experience in academia, start-up companies, and the U.S. federal government. Yajaira holds a degree in science from the University of Puerto Rico and a PhD in nanomaterials chemistry from Cornell University. In 2013, Yajaira served as the chief science officer for the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, a four-month-long Mars analog mission funded by NASA. A teacher-turned scientist, Yajaira is extremely passionate about STEM education and has collaborated with numerous organizations for the execution of citizen-science initiatives in the Americas.

What she says: "Would you like to partake in the field of space exploration? Don’t be afraid of reinvention. Say yes to new opportunities and leverage your unique background and experiences to drive innovation. Remember, the path does not need to be – and most likely will not be – linear."

Karen Brun

The Space Sage

Age: 58
Country: USA (originally from Republic of Trinidad and Tobago)

Profile: Karen was inspired by the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. At the time, just a child growing up on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, embracing this new-found passion could have only remained a fantasy as she had never travelled more than 50 miles from her birthplace, much less travel on an aircraft. Years later, she took that first airplane ride, which brought her to a new life and opportunities in the United States. She embarked on a career in the U.S Air Force, specializing in aviation and air mobility operations serving as a C-5 Galaxy Flight Engineer. NASA selected Karen as a mission specialist for the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Program, a 45-day simulated space habitat mission at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, which focuses on human research to support future deep space travel. Following HERA, Karen accepted a NASA internship at the Safety & Mission Assurance Support Division in California. Almost fifty years since watching Neil Armstrong make one giant leap for mankind, Karen continues to share her passion for aviation and space exploration by inspiring generations of learners.

What she says: “More women would get inspired to join space science, if only they became involved in STEM early on in their lives.”

Shayla Redmond

The Space Advisor

Age: 31
Country: USA

Profile: Shayla Redmond is an active advocate of STEM with her non-profit company STEAM Unlimited, where she develops events that incorporate the arts in science. She holds degrees in aerospace engineering, physics, and systems engineering and participates in professional development for teachers and volunteers year-round to support educating people of all ages. The mother of two works as an engineer and teaches at the National STEM Academy in her spare time.

What she says: “Having a community of people that replicate the Earth environment will continue to grow us as a society as we venture deeper into space. This relates to women not losing our individual personalities or characteristic to assimilate to the environment that is mostly men. I for one would like to calculate the future of propulsion and participate in the research of the hyper drive while in space with good water-proof mascara that doesn’t smear.”

Yvette Gonzalez

The Resilience Expert

Age: 42
Country: USA (Mexican & Native American roots)

Profile: Yvette Gonzalez was raised in El Paso, Texas. Of Native American heritage, she aims to be one of the many future Native Americans to conduct research in space and lunar habitats. Yvette is a human resilience expert, space sustainability strategist, and scientist-astronaut candidate. With 20 years of experience in rebuilding communities in active war, conflict, natural disasters, and epidemiological outbreaks, she now focuses her skills on human factors in space technology and experience. Her transition is an example of the possibility of commercial sector space opportunity. She is an active member of Women in Aerospace - Europe, and has trained with the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) on analog missions.

What she says: "Space science, and the advent of commercial spaceflight, reshaped a commitment in me to give back to humanity. That it is possible and that I can contribute meaningfully. Space really does need everyone, so no matter your education, upbringing, gender, socio-economic status, or passport - you can participate. In fact, it is diversity that fuels advancements."