A member of the Wailacki, a community of the Round Valley Indian tribes in northern California, Mann will lead Expedition 68 to the International Space Station.
American astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann will this week become the first descendant of the original peoples of North America to fly into space, where she will go on a NASA mission together with the crew of SpaceX Crew-5, scheduled to take off from the Center Space Kennedy (Florida, USA) this Wednesday, October 5.
Mann, a member of the Wailacki, a community of the Round Valley Indian tribes in northern California, will be the commander of Expedition 68 to the International Space Station, where she will stay for half a year to carry out scientific experiments and technological tests.
“I am very proud to represent Native Americans and my heritage,” said the former pilot and colonel of the US Marine Corps, who said that she will take with her some things to remember her home, including a dream catcher, a traditional protective amulet. in some indigenous cultures.