page_title: Women in space
section_title: First women in space of other countries
hierarchical_section_title: Women in space / Women in space programs / First women in space of other countries
caption_attribution_description: English: "There's coffee in that nebula." &#91;1&#93; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti seen here as Captain Janeway in the Cupola of the International Space Station. Cristoforetti captured the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft using the Canadarm2 robotic arm before handing off to robotics officers at Mission Control, Houston, Texas who worked to maneuver Dragon to its installation position at the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module where it will reside for five weeks. Cristoforetti points to the Dragon in this image taken on Apr. 17, 2015 shortly after grappling. The Dragon carried more than 2 tons of equipment, experiments and supplies for the Expedition 43 crew aboard the station.
context_page_description: The first woman in space, cosmonaut, flew in 1963. However space flight programs did nt include women after her until the 1980s. Since then many women from a range of countries have worked in space, though overall women are still significantly less often chosen then men to go to space. The first woman to go to the Moon is planned for 2024, as part of the Artemis program.
  Three countries maintain active space programs that have included women: China, Russia, and the United States. In addition, a number of other countries — Canada, France, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom — have sent women into orbit or space on Russian or US missions. Most women in space have been United States citizens, with missions on the Space Shuttle and on the International Space Station.
  Women in space face many of the same challenges faced by men: physical difficulties posed by non-Earth conditions and psychological stresses of isolation and separation. Scientific studies on female amphibians and non-human mammals generally show no adverse effect from short space missions.
context_section_description: Helen Sharman, United Kingdom (1991, first western European woman in space)
  Claudie Haigneré, France (1996)
  Jessica Meir, Sweden (2019, due to dual citizenship, though flown as US astronaut)
  Yi So-yeon, South Korea (2008)
  Samantha Cristoforetti, Italy (2014)
caption: Cristoforetti in the ISS Cupola with a view of SpaceX CRS-6
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