While doing research on emperor penguins for my Ph.D. I've always been drawn to remote places-and extreme challenges. Maybe that's why I wanted to be an astronaut from such a young age. Jessica Meir, Ph.D.: I had a fantastic view of the stars from the teeny town in Maine where I grew up. No one cares about race or religion or nationality in space travel. With so much conflict in the world, space exploration can be a beacon of hope. I joined the Army out of a deep sense of duty, but wanting to be an astronaut feels more like my destiny. I learned a lot in Iraq, flying attack helicopters at the front of the front lines. I grew up in Spokane, Washington, and I can't recall ever not wanting to be an astronaut. I still remember getting the call that I'd been selected. When these women were chosen for the class of 2013, NASA announced that they could be selected for an inaugural trip to Mars.Īnne McClain: There were more than 6,100 other applicants for our class of eight, and I'd made my peace with not getting in. From application to acceptance, the process takes a year and a half and includes intensive psychological and medical testing. NASA inducts a new class of prospective astronauts every four or five years, and competition is fierce. "I can't recall not wanting to be an astronaut." Last fall they gave Glamour exclusive access to watch them train at NASA's facilities in Houston-and talked about their epic adventure. A fearless group, Meir and her colleagues Anne McClain, 36, Christina Hammock Koch, 37, and Nicole Aunapu Mann, 38, have already flown combat missions in Iraq, braved the South Pole, and dived under thick layers of ice in Antarctica. Also phenomenal? For the first time NASA's latest class of astronauts is 50 percent female.
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