NASA astronaut visits Hollister

Editor’s note: This article was updated to include total number of attendees and to state the article was co-sponsored by Hollister City Council member Dolores Morales. This article was written by BenitoLink intern Camille Mattish. Lea este articulo en español aquí.

Astronaut Nicole Mann, the first Indigenous woman in space, shared her experience with about 90 others in a meet-and-greet hosted by Youth Alliance on Jan. 5. 

Mann commanded a mission for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5, spending 157 days on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022. 

The ISS is “launching a spacecraft from the U.S. twice a year with a continuously rotating crew on board, and they will continue that until 2030,” Mann said. 

She said the most important thing she learned from the experience was how important the team was, both on board and on the ground. 

The mission overcame many challenges, she noted. For example, “a Soviet spacecraft got hit by a micro-meteorite and lost its external cooling loop, and so it was incredible to see the team come together on the ground and support the mission in space,” Mann said. 

NASA states that the external cooling loop “circulates ammonia outside the station to keep both internal and external equipment cool.”

Mann said she felt honored to be the first Indigenous woman in space and that at first she didn’t realize how important it was to share her journey with others.

“There are so many children that grow up in an area where they don’t necessarily have access to information,” she said. “They don’t realize what opportunities exist for them.”

Mann added that though she broke some barriers there is more to do.

“Part of this is inspiring the young generation and letting them know that these opportunities exist and open them to not only dream those big dreams but achieve those big dreams,” she said. 

After spending over five months in space, she said it took about a day and a half to adjust physically to earth’s atmosphere. 

“Your vestibular system hasn’t been functioning at all,” Mann said. “So you can’t stand up; you don’t have balance.” 

Upon arriving back on Earth, she said the first thing she ate was Cheerios, which she admitted to being teased about. 

Mann grew up in Penngrove, 44 miles north of San Francisco. Before becoming an astronaut, she looked into different service academies, the first one being the U.S. Naval Academy. According to NASA, besides serving in the Navy, she also is a colonel in the Marine Corps.

Some of her fun experiences while serving in the Naval Academy included playing soccer and being a fighter pilot of the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet. She applied to be an astronaut while pregnant. 

She said her husband encouraged her to try and achieve her dreams. 

Astronaut Mann was one of the four women and four men to be selected for the SpaceX Crew-5. They trained in Houston at the Johnson Space Center in a neutral buoyancy lab, a pool that is 40 feet deep and contains a life-size mockup of the ISS. 

She said the team spent hundreds of hours practicing and preparing for the mission. Part of the preparation demanded good physical fitness, so they worked out often. During the mission, everyone exercised about two and a half hours every day to maintain their muscle tone and bone density. 

Mann also gave updates on human exploration of space, saying the next target is about 230,000 miles from Earth.

“NASA is looking towards the moon as part of the Artemis program and will be launching soon to go around the moon,” she said. “They are going to test out the systems of the new Orion spacecraft, which is a stepping stone to future missions. They will land on the South Pole and develop habitat on the moon and have a sustained human presence on the lunar surface.” 

Mann said she hopes to see someone one day born on another planet, and is very thankful for her experience.

The meet-and-greet included Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, who spoke briefly about the importance of pursuing a career in the sciences. Eddy Navarro, Youth Alliance director of development, told BenitoLink the event was co-sponsored by Hollister City Council member Dolores Morales.

The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour, United Way, Taylor Farms and the Emma Bowen Foundation.