Mary Cleave, who was known as the first woman to fly on a space shuttle mission after the Challenger disaster in 1989 and was the first woman to head the NASA science division, sadly passed away at age 76.
Mary Cleave died on Monday, 27 November, and the news of her death was confirmed on Wednesday by NASA’s Outgoing Assistant Administrator, Bon Cabana,
who was also the shuttle Astronaut; however, NASA did not announce the cause of her death.
Mary cleave education
Mary Cleave, hailing from Great Neck, New York, had a successful academic journey. She attended Colorado State University, earning her Biological Sciences degree. She further pursued her master’s in microbial ecology and a civil and environmental engineering doctorate from Utah State University.
Mary cleave’s journey from air to space
According to Cleave’s statement with NASA’s oral history project in 2002, she was captivated by flying airplanes and earned her pilot license before her driver’s license. She shared her passion for becoming a flight attendant at that time but was unhappy when she found out that she was 5 2″, which was too short for the role assigned according to the airline rules.
Mary’s persistent dedication made her dream come true, and she got an opportunity to fly a supersonic jet known as a T-38. Mary told NASA it was her pleasure to fly such great planes.
Mary was pursuing her doctoral studies and was working in the research lab when she saw an advertisement at a local post office that stated that NASA requires scientists to join the astronaut Corps. Mary applied for the post and, fortunately, got selected in 1980.
Journey in space
Mary began her first mission in 1985, flying on NASA space shuttle Atlantis. She was listed among the ten women who traveled to space, performed her duty as a flight engineer, and helped operate the shuttle’s robotic arm.
In 1986, due to the Challenger explosion, which killed all crew members on board and also the first teacher flying in space. NASA had reverted to flying an all-
male crew for three missions, which resulted in Cleave’s second flight, STS-30, in 1989, also on Atlantis.
Mary Cleave became famous for the tag ‘first’ attached to her as she became the first female astronaut in space at that time. Cleave emphasized that the primary responsibility of women in the Corps is to focus on their job.
Role of Mary Cleave in Space
Mary Cleave was a member of Historic First, where she served her role on NASA Mission Control Capcom as a sally ride. She became the first woman to travel to space in 1983 on a STS-7 mission. It was the first female-to-female communication when Mary Cleave spoke to Ride in orbit. She spent over ten days in orbit during her two shuttle missions.
Mary Cleave was later again appointed for another flight after STS-30; however, Cleave said that she had waited four years between her two flights on the ground, due to which her heart began to change, and during her four-year gap between missions, she got severe concern about the environmental issues. Mary told the Oral History Project that she had noticed drastic changes on Earth after returning from space.
Mary made the hardest decision to leave the Corps and NASA astronaut hub in Houston. In 1991, she got a role at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, where she worked on a project called SeaWiFS, an ocean monitoring sensor used to monitor global vegetation. Later, in 2000, she transferred to NASA headquarters in Washington DC and got the title of first woman Associate Administrator for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, where she carried out research work in NASA.
In 2007, she retired from NASA and served her volunteering services. She encouraged young women to join scientific research. Every person in research will always acknowledge Cleave’s remarkable contribution to research and space.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
