Famous female astronauts begin with Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space on June 16, 1963, and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space on June 18, 1983. Mae Jemison and Christina Koch later extended that list.
These firsts record who was allowed to go, which is also the live question for the Moon and Mars. The sections below follow how selection, roles and goals changed. The prior question of whether anyone can settle there is covered in the guide that asks can humans live on mars.
Tereshkova and the first flight
Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel to space when she launched aboard Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963. According to this account of the flight, she was 26 years old and launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome under the call sign Chaika. She circled Earth 48 times and spent almost 71 hours in space.
She also remains the only woman to fly a solo mission to date. That status means every later woman’s flight has been a crew flight. Her record is therefore a different kind of milestone from the ones that followed, not an early version of them.
The context matters as much as the numbers. The same account of the flight notes that early women’s flights were used for publicity and propaganda purposes, and that the women were not treated the same as their male counterparts. A first can prove that a woman can do the job. It does not show that the system around her has changed, which is why the later steps below say more about access.
The 1978 NASA class and Sally Ride
Barriers are decided at selection, not at launch, because a launch is the end of a pipeline that begins with an application. NASA’s 1978 astronaut class was the first to include women. Ride and five other women, along with 29 men, were selected out of 8,000 applicants. The class became known as the “Thirty-Five New Guys” and reported to the Johnson Space Center. The nickname is a small sign of how far the label lagged behind the roster.
Ride flew STS-7 on June 18, 1983, after five years of training. The six-day mission deployed two communications satellites and performed a number of science experiments. Her later work is less often retold. She was the only person to serve as a member of both shuttle accident investigation boards.
That detail is useful when judging pioneers. Ride’s career included a working technical flight and then oversight of how the programme failed and could be made safer. It was not a symbolic role alone, and it shows why having women inside selection, flight and review matters more than any single launch date.
Records and firsts at a glance
The table separates the different kinds of milestone, because a duration mark, a demographic first and a campaign goal answer different questions.
| Astronaut or programme | Milestone | Mission and date | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valentina Tereshkova | First woman in space; only woman to fly a solo mission to date | Vostok 6, June 16, 1963; 48 orbits, almost 71 hours | Sets the starting date for any list of firsts and stays a distinct solo benchmark |
| Mae Jemison | First woman of color in space | STS-47, 1992 | Shows that a gender first did not settle who else was missing from crews |
| Christina Koch | One of the longest single flights by a woman | Expedition 59/60/61, 2019–2020 | The endurance benchmark in this list, and the one closest to long-mission planning |
| Artemis program | Goal to land the first woman and first woman of color on the Moon | Campaign goal; lunar, not Mars | The next step in the sequence, and a precedent rather than a Mars commitment |
Tereshkova’s figures come from this account of Vostok 6, and the Jemison, Koch and Artemis entries from this overview of women in spaceflight.
Reading the records correctly
Records come in different kinds, so the question of who holds them depends on which kind you mean. Tereshkova’s is the only solo flight by a woman. Ride’s is a national first as the first American woman in space. Jemison’s is a first for women of color, and another account describes her 1992 Endeavour flight as making her the first African-American woman to travel to space. Koch’s stay is a duration mark.
Koch’s flight is described as one of the longest single flights by a woman. Quote it that way rather than as an outright record, since the wording does not claim the top spot.
How barriers for women astronauts changed
The change happened in stages, and each stage removed a different obstacle. The sequence below follows the evidence rather than a single turning point.
- A flight used for show. Tereshkova’s 1963 mission proved a woman could complete an orbital flight, but the women of that era were used for publicity and propaganda and were not treated like their male counterparts.
- Selection opens. The 1978 NASA class was the first to include women, with six chosen alongside 29 men. That moved access from an exception to a process with applicants.
- Roles broaden. Women have since served across mission types as research astronauts, mission specialists and commanders, on shuttle, Soyuz and International Space Station flights. Being a passenger-like first is different from holding command.
- Training is the same. The same overview states that training regimens for women mirror those for men, and that selection criteria are not gendered. A shared standard is what lets later selection be judged on the job.
- The question widens. Jemison’s flight shows that gender was only one dimension. Who is missing from crews is a broader question than the first woman, and Artemis states its goals in those terms.
Equal training rules are a condition for fair selection, not proof of it. The stated criteria describe a standard. They do not show who is in the applicant pool, who is chosen, or who is given command, which is where the access debate continues.
Women and the Mars question
Artemis is a lunar campaign, so its stated goal of landing the first woman and the first woman of color on the Moon is a precedent for Mars rather than a Mars commitment. No Mars crew composition is part of those stated goals.
What the record does support is that the main objections have been answered in practice. Women have flown as commanders, trained to the same regimens as men and completed long single flights such as Koch’s. A woman leading a Mars mission would therefore rest on established experience, but it remains an open prospect rather than a plan.
For readers weighing who should be on such a crew, the larger case for crewed exploration is set out in Why Space Exploration Still Matters: 7 Surprising Benefits For Earth, Economy, And Science (2026) – Decolonizemars. Mars crews would also work to another planet’s day length, and the contrast with a gas giant is explained in How Long Is a Day on Jupiter? The Surprisingly Short Truth (2026 Update) – Decolonizemars.
The pioneers’ histories also suggest what to watch. Tereshkova’s flight shows how selection can serve publicity, Ride’s class shows how it can be opened to applicants, and Artemis shows goals now stated in terms of who goes. For Mars, the useful test is whether crew selection is open and clearly justified, because that was the lesson of the earlier steps.
Frequently asked questions
Who was the first woman in space?
Valentina Tereshkova, who flew Vostok 6 in June 1963. She remains the only woman to have flown a solo mission.
How many women were in NASA’s 1978 astronaut class?
Six women, including Sally Ride, were chosen alongside 29 men from 8,000 applicants. It was the first NASA class to include women.
Was Mae Jemison the first Black woman in space?
Yes. She flew on STS-47 in 1992 and is described as the first African-American woman to travel to space and the first woman of color in space.
Is Artemis a Mars programme?
No. Its stated goals are to land the first woman and the first woman of color on the Moon. It is a lunar campaign that can set a precedent for Mars crews.
