Revisited: Honoring the "Mercury 13"

By Nicolle Zellner

Image: Wikipedia

In the early 1960s, 13 high-flying female pilots underwent the same tests given to NASA's newly selected Mercury 7 astronauts. The women lasted longer, withstood higher stresses, and complained less. The privte testing program was abruptly ended at the start of the third phase of testing. 

In June of this year, U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Young Kim (R-CA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), and Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), co-chairs of the Women in STEM Caucus, introduced the Mercury 13 Congressional Gold Medal Act, to recognize the contributions of this group of women, the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (known colloquially as the Mercury 13), to our understanding of the simulated effects of space on women and also, importantly, their example of women in STEM fields. Motivated by their pioneering efforts, in 2018, we published a post, The First Lady Astronaut Trainees: Time for a Congressional Gold Medal. 

It's wonderful to see that this topic has regained momentum, and I encourage you to find and contact your own representatives and ask them to endorse the bill.

Learn more about the bill and listen to the full article at

https://www.dailylocal.com/2023/07/18/women-in-stem-co-chairs-introduce-bill-honoring-female-astronaut-pioneers/