By Mallory Daniels
Nicole Aunapu Mann was launched into space this fall, making her the first Native American woman to go to space. Colonel Mann was born on June 27th, 1977. She is a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. After graduating from Rancho Cotate High School in 1995, she enrolled in the US Naval Academy. Mann says she did not always dream of being an astronaut. She was mostly focused on being in the military and playing soccer. While she was in the naval academy, she played for the Navy Midshipmen women’s soccer team. She later attended Stanford University, where she received her Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering.
After graduating from Stanford, she continued to serve time in the military. She completed 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as a fighter pilot. Nicole Mann, along with over 6,000 people, applied to be an astronaut in 2011. In 2013, Nicole and her husband, Travis Mann, had their first child. That same year, Colonel Mann began working for NASA and finished training in 2015. She was selected to be the Spacecraft Commander for SpaceX’s Crew-5 mission.
On October 5th, 2022, Nicole Mann was sent to the International Space Station. While on this mission, the plan is to conduct over 200 experiments in a span of six months. When preparing to go to space, astronauts are allowed to choose a few personal items to take along. Colonel Mann decided to take her wedding ring and a dreamcatcher that was gifted from her mother when she was a child.
Although Colonel Mann and her team must work very hard in space, they still show that having fun is important too. Mann and the other astronauts on SpaceX’s Crew-5 mission even dressed up for Halloween! They all dressed as different characters from Mario Kart, with Colonel Mann as Mario.
