In 1983, NASA astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space
Before launch, a group of NASA engineers came to Ride, asking if 100 tampons would be sufficient for her needs on a six-day space shuttle mission. Ride responded that “you can cut that in half with no problem at all,” according to an oral history produced in 2002.
That interaction best encapsulates NASA’s wariness about dealing with women’s health, both within the agency and to the outside world when Ride flew decades ago.
But even today, the space agency rarely, if ever, comments on managing women’s reproductive health. NASA will be forced to confront the unique aspects of being a woman in space, at least internally, as the agency pushes to send humans to Mars in the coming years. Read more…
More about Women S Health, Menstruation, Spaceflight, Health, and Science
