With the passing of Katherine Johnson late last month, the woman whose calculations gave us the moon, I’m reminded of the fantastic contributions of women to the space industry this International Women’s Day and the dreams of little girls everywhere to touch the stars. Given its comparative youth, human space activity can almost be seen as a microcosm of feminism throughout history, with its giant leaps for women in some directions and it’s worrying back steps in others. From the outset of space law with the Outer Space Treaty in 1967, women were placed on an equal par with men with the theme of union and international co-operation running through the treaty, which refers not to individual State parties or mankind, especially in terms of  the idea of male-as norm, the feminist principle that male is the fault, typical language but to ‘humanity’, as a whole. The Outer Space Treaty, and the treaties which followed – namely the Rescue Agreement, Liability Convention and Registration Convention – refers to the people of Earth in our united capacity, beyond terrestrial international differences, that outer space belongs to all of us.

At the same time, as the Outer Space Treaty’s vague, idealistic language has proven across the areas discussed within its articles, actual delivery has proven poor by contrast. Although the first woman in space, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova went in 1963 and she was eventually followed by American Sally Ride in 1983, this was in reaction in newly introduced anti-discrimination laws enshrined in the Equal Employment Opportunity Act 1972, rather than adding women to astronaut crews as another part of representing humanity in outer space. This was even though it was suspected as early as 1960 that women are probably more biologically suited to space than men. As of December 2019, out of the 565 people who have traveled beyond the safety of Earth’s atmosphere, only 65 have been women. We still have some catching up to do. Indeed, despite the introduction of women into human space activity, sexism was not left behind on Earth. When Svetlana Savitskaya joined Soyuz T-7 in 1982, she was greeted by her crew mates by the present of an apron and the declaration that having a woman on board, Svetlana would be working in the kitchen. A leap forward, a step back. And this problem continues in the modern day.

The first all-female spacewalk from the International Space Station [ISS] was famously rescheduled because upon suiting up to undertake the excursion, one of the two women involved Anne McClain, found that her spacesuit was an improper fit. Spacesuits are built from their range of parts on board the ISS and the suit torso available to McClain was a large which upon trying it on, she realized was a size too big and that she would be feel safer, and more comfortable in a medium. Unfortunately due to lack of storage, an additional torso in that size was unavailable, so McClain was replaced by a male colleague. The incident made international news, with many media outlets voicing ‘cries of discrimination and jokes about gender [which] dominated social media’. But as Elizabeth Howell pointed out, McClain’s decision was sensibly made on the basis of safety, paramount when considering the correct measurements for Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] such as spacesuits, especially against the hazards of outer space. At the same time, the incident highlighted discrepancies across all walks of life regarding the discrepancy of safety statistics is primarily based on research centered on men, and most PPE sizing has been designed for the male body. This was proven to be particularly problematic in STEM careers for women participating in the field, but additionally the risk of injury to women in everyday life more generally as well. 

In the more distant future, the development of long term space missions as we travel deeper into space and eventually settle there are causing old questions regarding the role of women to almost resurface, such as fertility and pregnancy, hence human space activity acting as a microcosm overall. We need to make space for women, but hopefully, the speed of inclusion and rate of progress in the space industry, means that for women everywhere that’s getting easier to do all the time.