A top engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) wants a woman to be the first person to go to Mars.
Allison McIntyre, a senior NASA engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, said the first person to go to Mars should be a woman, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday. There have been so far 12 people who stepped on the moon, the most recent trip was in 1972. However, a female astronaut has yet to accomplish that feat.
“My centre director is a woman, my former division chief is a woman, we have female astronauts, but we haven’t put a woman on the Moon yet, and I think the first person on Mars should be a woman,” McIntyre told BBC Radio 5 Live. McIntyre works closely with possible astronauts to prepare them for potential disasters such as toxic spills, fire, or even depressurization at the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. She has been at NASA for almost 30 years.
“It would be awesome and inspiring, to have a woman take the first steps on Mars … and I don’t mind volunteering for that!” NASA engineer Kavya Manyapu added.
Female astronaut Karen Nyberg spent six months in outer space at the International Space Station (ISS) in 2000. However, her space mission was not chosen to go to the moon.
Vice President Mike Pence said Monday at the 34th annual space symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo., that President Donald Trump wants to send another American to the moon again. Pence also said that the administration wants to eventually send someone to Mars, according to The Associated Press.
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