By: Sofia PichihuaPeru is perfectly situated to take advantage of all economic opportunities that already exist or that will be coming in this new space age, said Dr. Sian Proctor, astronaut and pilot for SpaceX Inspiration4 —the first all-civilian orbital mission.
Dr. Sian Proctor visited Peru last week to share her story as the first female commercial astronaut spaceship pilot and the only African American woman to ever be a mission pilot. Likewise, she is the first African-American commercial astronaut, and the first African-American to paint in space. The mentor is currently serving as a member of the
National Space Council Users' Advisory Group.
"When I say 'Space for All,' I think about how we must globally create a fair, equitable, diverse, and inclusive space for all humanity. I want you to experience what I did at the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission," she said during a masterclass with students and guests at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) in Lima.
How did she achieve her dream?
Born in Hagåtña, Guam, her parents inspired young Sian to follow her dream to become an astronaut. As a child, she got disappointed when a doctor told her family that she had to wear glasses forever. Her dream to become a space pilot seemed far away. However, she never gave up.
She studied at Arizona State University, where she received an undergraduate degree on environmental sciences and later a master's degree in Geology in 1998. In 2006, Dr. Sian earned a PhD in Science Education. She inspired her students as a Geoscience Professor at the Maricopa Community Colleges.
Later, her deep wishes to become an astronaut returned. Thus, she got her pilot license (SCUBA certified), and in 2009 was a finalist for that year's NASA Astronaut Program.
In 2020, she became an analog astronaut and has completed four analog missions including the all-female SENSORIA Mars mission at the Hawai'i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat, the NASA-funded 4-month Mars mission at HI-SEAS, a 2-week Mars mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), and a 2-week Moon mission in the LunAres Habitat. She believes that "when we solve for space, we also solve issues on Earth."
"Analog missions are recognized by NASA and are seen as an important part of space exploration," Dr. Proctor indicated.
"That's where you do things like with robotics and geology out in the field, all but you're acting like you're living on the moon or Mars and you also have a lot of like psychological experiments," the expert told Andina news agency.
"NASA does a lot of research during analog missions, and they offer funding for analog missions because they know the road map to the moon and Mars and beyond is through analogs. We need to test out our theories and our equipment and ways of being able to manage long duration space flight here on Earth before we go and do it for real out in space. We make the mistakes here so that we can be successful out there," she indicated.
A year later Dr. Proctor pursued her dream with the opportunity to become the pilot for SpaceX commercial mission. Inspiration4 marked the world's first all-civilian mission to orbit. Named in recognition of the four-person crew that raised awareness and over $240 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, this milestone represented a new era for human spaceflight and exploration.
She uses her Space2inpsire Art to encourage conversations about creating a J.E.D.I. Space: a Just, Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive space for all of humanity.
As
we already reported, the Peruvian Space Agency (Conida), the Peruvian Air Force, and the United States Space Command participate in the project for the construction of a space port in the South American country –a public investment initiative promoted by the Defense sector.
"What else can you create along with that space port? And that's one of the things we're thinking about, how the university partners with the space port to get students there to help with all of the activities that will be happening and also thinking about what types of analogs can be in that same area along with the Spaceport?" she added.
In her opinion, a space port builds the infrastructure for an entire Space Program.
(FIN) SPV/MVB
Published: 6/18/2024