"I think that space cooperation, and especially the flying of astronauts to the ISS, shows us that when you concentrate on common goals, rather than on differences, working together becomes possible even in times of tension. There remains no room for conflicts, because we need to focus on what we have in common, and on the greater goal for which we are all working.”
space
The women who sew for NASA
Mary Halton /
BBC
Lien is the latest in a long line of women whose crafting skills have been vital to Nasa. During the Apollo programme, which sent the first humans to the moon, employees at defence contractor Raytheon were employed to "weave" the software for the spacecraft. Referred to as the "little old ladies", many of them were in fact young women, threading copper wires through tiny magnetic loops to create the individual ones and zeros of programme code. Their role in this time consuming and incredibly precise process was largely invisible to the outside world.
Gender parity at work may reach space before it’s on Earth
Ephrat Livni /
Quartz
Six astronauts are currently sealed in a 430-sq-ft simulated spacecraft in Moscow, where they will remain for 17 days. The crew—three men and three women—will not leave Earth but are laying the groundwork for future moon voyages. One of the things being tested on this static mission is the right ratio of men to women on any given trip.
Jasmin Moghbeli, Badass Astronaut
Robin Wright /
The New Yorker