In our society, the mindset is that women are not as capable or knowledgeable in certain fields as men. Unfortunately, this is an ongoing problem, especially with young girls who want to be astronauts and engineers, to name a few. Astronauts are a special breed of individuals who have the talent and training to be launched into space.
Among strangers all over the world, they are not only considered to be the bravest but also one of the most intelligent people. But one thing that distinguishes them from other people is their age.
In the history of NASA, a record-shattering number of females have made it into space. And young women are continuing to break records year after year. In this article, we will talk about the world’s youngest female astronauts. So it’s time for another hype of women who have made history by becoming the youngest astronaut.
12. Svetlana Savitskaya (August 8, 1948 – present)
Age Started: 34 years old
Space agency: Roscosmos
Nationality: Russian
Alma Mater: Moscow Aviation Institute
photo source: nmspacemuseum.org
Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya, a Soviet astronaut, became the first woman to travel through space. Savitskaya started her training for work with the Soyuz and Salyut spacecraft when she was chosen to join the Soviet space program in 1980. She was the second woman to enter space on August 19, 1982, as part of the Soyuz T-7 mission to the Salyut 7 space station.
When Savitskaya took part in welding tests on the space station’s exterior hull on July 25, 1984, during her second visit to Salyut 7, she made history by being the first woman to carry out a space mission. After coming home, Savitskaya joined the Energia aerospace design company as an executive.
Did You Know?
Savitskaya transitioned into politics, and in 1989, she won a seat in the Duma as a Communist Party member.
11. Christina H. Koch (January 29, 1979 – present)
Age Started: 33 years old
Space agency: NASA
Nationality: American
Alma Mater: North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
photo source: today.com
NASA chose Christina Hammock Koch to become an astronaut in 2013. In 2015, she finished her training to be an astronaut candidate. Her most recent spaceflight experience was as a flight engineer on International Space Station Expeditions 59, 60, and 61.
Before joining NASA, Koch held jobs in outlying areas of science engineering and the creation of space research apparatus. At the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, where she began her work as an electrical engineer, she significantly influenced the scientific equipment used by a long list of space science operations.
Did You Know?
Koch set the mark for the longest solitary assignment by a woman, spending 328 days in space.
10. Sally Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012)
Age Started: 32 years old
Space agency: NASA
Nationality: American
Alma Mater: Stanford University
photo source: biography.com
Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Sally Ride, a student aged 26 years old, saw an advertisement for the program for women astronauts in the school newspaper. Sally Ride decided to apply and was one of the six women selected.
In 1983, Ride was 32 years old and serving as an astronaut on a space shuttle flight. She was responsible for controlling the robotic arm, which she accomplished to assist in launching satellites into orbit. In 1984, she made another space shuttle launch.
Did You Know?
2003 saw the induction of Ride into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. For their commitment, astronauts are honored in the Astronaut Hall of Fame.
9. Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003)
Age Started: 32 years old
Space agency: NASA
Nationality: Indian
Alma Mater: Weill Medical College, Stanford Engineering
photo source: ritzmagazine.in
In 1997, Kalpana Chawla made history by becoming the first woman of Indian descent to travel to space. For NASA, Kalpana Chawla led ground-breaking research, opened doors, and broke glass ceilings. By the time she is 32 years old, Kalpana has finished her training and is chosen for her inaugural flight. Kalpana’s contribution to the aeronautical profession has become increasingly significant.
The first Indian-born woman to go to space, Kalpana Chawla, did so in December 1997. When the Columbia Space Shuttle returned to Earth, Kalpana was one of seven individuals chosen for STS-107. Unfortunately, the shuttle broke apart and malfunctioned shortly before touching down in Texas, tragically killing all seven crew members.
Did You Know?
The combined length of Chawla’s two trips into space was 30 days, 14 hours, and 54 minutes. After her passing, Kalpana Chawla was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for her breakthrough work in aviation.
8. Mae Jemison (October 17, 1956 – present)
Age Started: 31 years old
Space agency: NASA
Nationality: African American
Alma Mater: Weill Medical College, Stanford Engineering
photo source: biography.com
Mae Jemison applied to the NASA astronaut program in 1985, but the agency stopped considering new applicants in the wake of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. Mae was 31 years old when she reapplied in 1987, though, and was one of the 15 picked from more than 2,000 applicants.
In the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992, Mae Jemison traveled worldwide for consecutive weeks.
She has written several novels and had many television appearances, including one on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The National Women’s Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame have recognized Jemison in addition to her earlier honors.
Did You Know?
Mae Jemison, a doctor from the United States, became the first African-American woman to travel to space.
7. Zena Cardman (October 26, 1987 – present)
Age Started: 30 years old
Space agency: NASA
Nationality: American
Alma Mater: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
The 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class will include Zena Cardman, who NASA chose. She reported for duty in August 2017 and is now qualified for a mission after completing basic astronaut candidate training. The Virginian earned her undergraduate degree in biology and her master’s degree in marine sciences from the University of North Carolina.
Her study focused on geobiology and geochemical cycling in underground settings, including sediments from deep sea caverns. The several Antarctic missions in Cardman’s background
Did You Know?
At Pennsylvania State University, Cardman was researching the biogeochemical cycling and microbial metabolism of cave systems when she was selected as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in June 2017.
6. Kayla Barron (September 19, 1987 – present)
Age Started: 29 years old
Space agency: NASA
Nationality: American
Alma Mater: United States Naval Academy
photo source: starsunfolded.com
NASA has chosen Kayla Barron to participate in the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. In August 2017, she arrived for work. The native of Washington graduated with a degree in systems engineering from the United States Naval Academy, and Barron—a Gates Cambridge Scholar—earned a master’s in nuclear engineering at Cambridge University.
On November 10, 2021, Barron took part in the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 expedition to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew-3 crew, NASA’s third long-duration commercial crew mission to the International Space Station, landed on Earth on Friday, May 6, 2022.
Did You Know?
The NASA Artemis moon-landing program of 2024 will select Kayla Barron as its first and youngest female astronaut. She’d be the first female astronaut to set foot on the moon.
5. Stephanie Wilson (September 27, 1966 – present)
Age Started: 29 years old
Space agency: NASA
Nationality: American
Alma Mater: Harvard University
photo source: en.wikipedia.org
Stephanie D. Wilson has flown in space three times, covering more than 42 days in 2006, 2007, and 2010. NASA chose Wilson in April 1996, and in August of that same year, he reported to the Johnson Space Center.
In the Astronaut Office Space Station division, Wilson was first given technical responsibilities that included developing specifications for cargo indicators and processes and assessing the interface design for those activities. Next, Wilson was hired by mission control and given technical authority over the space shuttle’s main engines, external tank, and solid rocket boosters. The Branch of Astronaut Office Space was home to this position.
Did You Know?
In 2021, she supported the Crew 3 ISS Mission Specialists, and now she is the Assigned Crew Branch’s deputy.
4. Judith Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986)
Age Started: 29 years old
Space agency: NASA
Nationality: American
Alma Mater: University of Maryland, A. James Clark School of Engineering
photo source: challenger.org
Before working for RCA’s missiles and surface radar division, Judith Resnik attended Carnegie Tech to study electrical engineering. She relocated to Washington, D.C., in 1971, where she got a job as a biomedical engineer at the National Institutes of Health’s neurophysics lab while obtaining a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Maryland.
Resnik decided to apply to NASA in 1977 and was chosen as one of the program’s six female participants. Resnick started as a pro at using the mechanical arm that was operated by remote control to transport items outside the ship. For example, she unfolded the 102-foot solar sail used to collect solar energy in 1984 during her maiden space mission on the shuttle Discovery.
Did You Know?
Resnik’s second space launch was the Challenger mission. Unfortunately, the shuttle detonated 73 seconds into the trip, killing the entire crew.
3. Jenni Sidey-Gibbons (September 4, 1988 – present)
Age Started: 28 years old
Space agency: Canadian Space Agency
Nationality: Canadian
Alma Mater: McGill University, University of Cambridge
photo source: asc-csa.gc.ca
Jenni Sidey-Gibbons was chosen to join the Canadian Space Agency in 2017 following a drawn-out recruitment procedure. She is the agency’s newest astronaut recruit. She completed the demanding two-year NASA training program on January 10, 2020, making her the third Canadian woman to serve as an astronaut after Roberta Bondar and Julie Payette.
She had mechanical engineering, combustion science, and Cambridge University professor on her résumé at 28. She wanted to test whether she had what it took when the chance arose for the Canadian to add “astronaut” to that list. She ultimately chose to pursue an engineering degree at McGill University with a concentration in combustion.
Did You Know?
With the aid of Sidey-Gibbons’ mother, Bondar painstakingly assembled a scrapbook of media items about the voyage after witnessing Bondar become the first Canadian woman in space in 1992.
2. Helen Sharman (May 30, 1963 – present)
Age Started: 27 years old
Space agency: European Space Agency
Nationality: British
Alma Mater: University of Sheffield, University of London
photo source: heritagefund.org.uk
When she climbed aboard the Soyuz TM-12, Helen Sharman was 27 years old. Despite not being the youngest astronaut in space, she is the first Western European woman and the first British cosmonaut. Her life story, which led up to her mission, became a national phenomenon and is worthy of a Hollywood movie.
She fought over 13,000 other hopefuls in a tough screening procedure before being chosen for her mission live on television in November 1989. Project Juno, a combined Soviet and British mission, was to be undertaken.
Did You Know?
Helen Sharman received the bronze, silver, and gold medals from the Royal Aero Club in recognition of her pioneering work and for setting the standard for future British space explorers.
1. Valentina Tereshkova (March 6, 1937 – July 3, 2004)
Age Started: 26 years old
Space agency: Roscosmos
Nationality: Russian
Alma Mater: Light Industry Technical School
photo source: imdb.com
Valentina Tereshkova is the youngest female astronaut ever. On June 16, 1963, she completed her first solo flight on the Vostok 6 when she was 26. Valentina Tereshkova is now the first, only, and youngest woman to set off on her mission. She traveled 48 times around the Earth while in orbit for over 72 hours.
The fleet’s last flight, Vostok 6, took off just two days after Vostok 5. For a few days, the two spacecraft orbited one another at an angle of just 30 degrees.
Despite having no professional training as a pilot, Tereshkova was an excellent amateur parachutist, and as a result of her voluntary application to the cosmonaut program in 1961, she was approved.
Did You Know?
After her time in space, Valentina continued to be politically engaged, even after the Soviet Union’s demise.
