Should the first person on Mars be a woman?
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Allison McIntyre, a senior NASA engineer at the Johnson Space Center in Houston said that the first person to set foot on Mars should be a woman.
“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,” she said.
“I think the first person on Mars should be a woman,” she continued.
NASA sent the first woman into space over 40 years ago, but even so, space exploration remains a field largely dominated by men.
Do you think a woman should be the first person to set foot on Mars?
16 comments
Anyone who goes to Mars will not return so it is a major sacrifice for humanity to go on such a mission. The planet is too hostile for any serious thoughts of human habitation. However, the knowledge gained could be a game changer.
We will eventually need to move off this planet if we're still alive in 5 billion years when the sun stops burning.
I imagine that any mission should include a team of well trained, highly skilled people of both sexes. As to who may set the first foot on the red planet?
It must be the mission team leader. So the question should be, who will lead the mission? And I say the person most qualified should do that. However, wouldnt it be nice to see a woman step down and give us an historical quote?
That's one small step for a woman, one giant leap for .....?
Houston, do we have a problem??