Nicole Aunapu Mann is the first Native American woman to go to space since her SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule takes off on Wednesday. 

She is only the second Native American person to go to space, with the first being John Herrington who went to space in 2002. She and her crew launched at 12 pm Eastern Time from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will rendezvous with the International Space Station once in orbit, to begin a five-month-long stay. 

Mann joined the NASA astronaut corps in 2013 after a career in the US Marine Corps as a test pilot. She was one of eight members selected to be part of NASA Astronaut Group 21. 

Who is Nicole Aunapu Mann?

Nicole Victoria Aunapu Mann is an American test pilot and NASA astronaut who has flown F/A-18 fight jets in combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. 

Born on June 27 1977, Mann grew up in Penngrove, California. She is of Wailacki heritage and is a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. Mann attended the US Naval Academy, graduating in 1999 with a degree in mechanical engineering. She then attended Stanford University where she did her masters in mechanical engineering, specialising in fluid mechanics. 

Her military career included flight training at the Naval Air Station Pensacola before joining a flight squadron in Virginia. Following two deployments during the Iraq war, Mann returned to the US and joined the US Naval Test Pilot School. 

Mann joined NASA in 2013, completing her training in 2015 after which she worked on the development of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System and the Exploration Ground Systems. All these systems are part of the Artemis programme which is a collaboration between NASA and several other space agencies and SpaceX. She is also training to become the first woman on the Moon as part of the Artemis program. The landing is currently scheduled for 2025.