Ulysses may have been the ultimate world traveller of his time, however, the future of space travel looks decidedly set to be an all-female enterprise. 55 years since Valentina Tereshkova dealt the patriarchy a blow by becoming the first woman to travel into space, Dr Beth Biller, Chancellor’s Fellow at Edinburgh University’s Institute for Astronomy points out that “women have always had a powerful role to play in space travel… think NASA computers and Katherine Johnson”.

 

NASA’s 2016 astronaut class was 50% female. Celebrities including Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Kate Winslet are already spearheading the way as some of the first to have signed up to Virgin Galactic’s $250,000 a ticket space trip.

 

Dr Francesca Baletto, a self proclaimed “femin-tist” whose research was selected by ScienceWatch as one of the most relevant papers on nanoparticles today thinks it’s our time: “We are half of the population if not more, I should think we are very important everywhere!”