NASA's Nicole Aunapu Mann will be the first Native American woman to visit space

NASA is breaking new ground for astronauts. As Indian Country Today reports, the agency recently confirmed that Marine Corps Col. Nicole Aunapu Mann will be the first Native American woman to travel to space. The Wailacki tribe member will serve as the mission commander for the SpaceX-powered Crew-5 mission heading to the International Space Station as soon as September 29th. When she arrives, Mann will be ISS Expedition 68's flight engineer during a six-month stay.

The Crew-5 mission will also ferry NASA's Josh Cassada, Japan's Koichi Wakata and Russia's Anna Kikina to the ISS. Chickasaw Nation member John Herrington was the first Native American of any gender to visit space, flying aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2002.

NASA/Bill Ingalls