Jewish-American astronaut Jessica Meir may be first woman on the Moon
Female astronauts have flown for years, with Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova being the first woman in space in 1963. However, they are still a minority among astronauts. (photo credit: NASA/JOSH VALCARCEL)
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir is a candidate to be the first woman to land on the Moon as part of the Artemis lunar mission, which would see the first woman, Jew and Swedish citizen to step foot on the lunar surface, and the first person to do so since Eugene Cernan on December 12, 1972. Meir made history in 2019 for being part of the first all-female spacewalk, and she is now one of several candidates for that historic spot on the Artemis III mission, currently slated to be launched in 2025. Female astronauts have flown for years, with Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova being the first woman in space in 1963. However, women are still a minority among astronauts. Meir said that that returning to the Moon, especially being the first woman, would be the culmination of a childhood dream.
