Dorothy Vaughan
Year born: 1910
Research Areas: Computer Programming
"I changed what I could, and what I couldn't, I endured."
Valeri Polyakov
Early Life
Valeri was born in Tula, Russia (then the USSR). Valeri’s father died when he was very young. He was initially called Valeri Korshunov, but changed his last name when he was adopted by his step-father. After school, he went to a medical institute in Moscow. He graduated with a degree in medicine in 1965. Valeri was inspired by the first Russian doctor to travel into space, Boris Yegorov. He dedicated himself to astronautics medicine – looking at the effects of flight and space travel on the human body. Valeri was selected as a cosmonaut in 1972.
Year born: 1942
Research Areas: Medicine, Spaceflight
"We can fly to Mars."
Samantha Cristoforetti
Early Life
Samantha was born in Milan, Italy but grew up in a tiny village in the Alps. She is a fan of science fiction and dreamed of becoming an astronaut from a young age. When she was 18, she did an exchange programme spending a year in the USA and attending Space Camp. She studied Mechanical Engineering at a university in Munich, Germany. During this time, she also studied in France and Russia. Samantha was one of the first women to join the Italian Air Force as a fighter pilot.
Year born: 1977
Research Areas: Mechanical Engineering, Aviation, Aeronautics
"I think there is a sense of destiny in this whole idea of space exploration."
Hazza Al Mansouri
Early Life
Hazza was born in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He spent much of his childhood near the Liwa Desert where he would stargaze and dream about being a pilot. He graduated from Khalifa bin Zayed Air College in 2004 with a degree in aviation. He went on to join the UAE Armed Forces and became a military pilot. In 2018, he was one of two people selected to become the UAE’s first astronauts. Over 4000 people applied.
Year born: 1983
Research Areas: Aviation
"Working in space allows you to see people, from different backgrounds, working towards one common goal"
Mae Jemison
Early Life
Mae was born in Alabama but grew up in Chicago in the USA. Mae grew up watching the NASA Apollo missions, growing frustrated that there were no female astronauts. This led her to want to study science and go to space. At 16, she started university studying chemical engineering and African studies. She then went back to university to get a medical degree.
Year born: 1956
Research Areas: Chemical Engineering, Medicine
Silvia Torres-Peimbert
Early Life
Silvia grew up in Mexico City, Mexico. She was encouraged by her teachers to pursue science. Her science teacher made it clear that if there were no women studying science then the contribution of half of the world’s population would be wasted. She studied physics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and then got her PhD in astronomy from University of California, Berkeley. After university, Silvia returned to Mexico to work as a research scientist.
Year born: 1940
Research Areas: Nebulae & Star Birth
"We have only this planet and we have to take care of it. It’s our responsibility to diminish pollution and to stop wars"
Kevin Govender
Early Life
Kevin grew up on a sugar-cane farm in South Africa. His mother was a primary school teacher and his father was a mechanic. Kevin volunteered for his community as part of a youth club and set up a science club at school. He saw how important it was to give people control of their own learning and to follow their interests. Kevin studied physics at university. He did not do any stargazing when he was young. There was a superstition that counting stars would give you warts!
Year born: c. 1981
Research Areas: Nuclear Physics, Astronomy, Sustainable Development
"I see every day how people who are moved by our place in the universe are inspired to move others"
Alice Bunn
Early Life
Alice grew up in Shrewsbury, UK. She specialised her studies in maths, physics, and chemistry at school. Alice took a gap year after school. She travelled and worked as an au pair in Italy. Alice then studied Metallurgy (the science and technology of metals) at the University of Leeds. She spent one year of her degree studying in Finland. Alice got a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1998. A company sponsored her PhD, so it was quite hands-on.
Research Areas: Materials Science, Satellites
"That’s the exciting thing about these scientific missions – you don’t know what you’re going to find."
John Glenn
Early Life
John grew up in Ohio, USA. His father was a plumber and his mother a teacher. He loved flying from an early age. He first went in a plane when he was 8 years old. John liked to spend his time building model aeroplanes. He was an enterprising child, washing cars and selling rhubarb to earn money to buy a bicycle. He played sports in school, including American football, basketball, and tennis. John studied chemistry at Muskingum College, Ohio. He left college before completing his degree to join the Army.
Year born: 1921
Research Areas: Space Flight, Politics
"Space Flight, Politics"
MiMi Aung
Early Life
MiMi was born in the USA and moved to her parent’s home country of Myanmar when she was two and a half. She was inspired by her mother to study science, maths and engineering. Her mother was the first women in Mayanmar to get a PhD in mathematics. MiMi says her mother was very technical, practical and logical.
Year born: 1968
Research Areas: Deep Space Exploration
"It’s more than just flying on another planet. It will open doors to a whole new class of exploration."