AVONDALE, Ariz. — She's visited space, participating in two spacewalks during her six-month journey, and breaking glass ceilings as the first indigenous woman to visit space.
Now, Colonel Nicole Mann is headed to a different place: Avondale.
Mann will be at Estrella Mountain Community College March 26 as part of the college's Women's History Month and focus on STEM. Mann is registered with the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes and will be speaking about her journey, from California to outer space.
The first Native American in space, in 2002, was now retired astronaut John Herrington of the Chickasaw Nation. Mann went into space 20 years after Herrington, on Oct. 5, 2022. She was in space from October to March of 2023.
But Mann didn't get her start in space travel. She is a Marine colonel and test pilot; she flew combat in Iraq for the Marines. While fascinated with stars and space as a child, Mann said she did not understand who became astronauts or even what they did.
“Unfortunately, in my mind at that time, it was not in the realm of possibilities,” she said.
That changed later in her career: Mann was selected by NASA in June of 2023.
During her time in space, she took in the sweeping vistas of Earth from 260 miles (420 kilometers) up, and she encourages youngsters to follow their dreams.
Mann will speak on March 26 at 11 a.m. in the Performing Arts Theater 114. To learn more, click here.
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