Program Type:
Books & AuthorsProgram Description
Event Details
Join us for an exhilarating journey through the history of U.S. women astronauts with Valerie Neal, emerita curator from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and expert on human spaceflight.
On a Mission: The Smithsonian History of US Women Astronauts spans 45 years and 61 astronauts to share the epic journeys of women who made space for themselves in a male-dominated field.
Valerie Neal interviewed many of the women astronauts to bring their experiences to life. She offers a culturally insightful history of their achievements, the challenges they've faced, and their distinctive stories. Collectively, they've completed more than 100 space shuttle missions, and more than 30 long-duration stays on the International Space Station and Russian Space Station Mir, and they continue to prove themselves in present-day space exploration efforts.
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The YPL Presents: Virtual Author series is funded and supported by the Foundation for the Yonkers Public Library.
About the Author: Valerie Neal is a space historian and Curator Emerita at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Her specialty is human spaceflight, space technology, and space science in the Space Shuttle era and beyond. At the Museum, she collected more than 1500 artifacts of the shuttle era, curated three exhibitions and eight documentary programs for the Smithsonian Channel (cable TV), published books and articles growing from her research, lectured in the USA and abroad, and gave many interviews for US and international media.
Before joining the Museum, she was a writer and editor for some 25 NASA publications on Space Shuttle and Spacelab missions, the Hubble Space Telescope and other Great Observatories, space science, and NASA History. She participated in underwater astronaut training in Alabama and mission support in Houston for four Space Shuttle missions. She has taught American Studies and writing courses at multiple universities. Valerie Neal holds Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in American Studies and a B.A. degree in English and History.