{"id":41255,"date":"2021-08-24T08:46:50","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T12:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?post_type=emagazine&p=41255"},"modified":"2022-07-27T07:50:03","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T11:50:03","slug":"rocket-women-vinita-marwaha","status":"publish","type":"emagazine","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/rocket-women-vinita-marwaha\/41255\/","title":{"rendered":"Why business and diverse talent are the future of space exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rocketing numbers of women in the space program shows change is happening, but Vinita Marwaha Madill (@Rocket_Woman1<\/a>,) space engineer and Founder of Rocket Women<\/a>, says we can do more to support all top space talent. She also sees a crucial role for business in our space exploration future.<\/p>\n

As part of Tomorrow Unlocked\u2019s new audio documentary Fast Forward<\/a>, I talk with Vinita about her work as a space engineer, how business is changing space and Rocket Women\u2019s work supporting women and girls who set their sights on the cosmos.<\/p>\n

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Vinita Marwaha Madill<\/p><\/div>\n

Ken: <\/strong>Tell us about the Rocket Women initiative.<\/p>\n

Vinita: <\/strong>Rocket Women is a global initiative founded in 2012 that aims to empower diverse young women to choose a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM.)<\/p>\n\t\t\t

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In the UK only 12 percent of engineers are women and less than 8 percent are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. The goal of Rocket Women is to reverse this trend by giving inspirational women worldwide a platform to share advice and have their voices heard. Sally Ride, the first US woman in space<\/a>, said, \u201cYou can\u2019t be what you can\u2019t see.\u201d Role models need to be tangible and visible to inspire and empower.<\/p>\n

We need diversity in space and technology so the professions reflect more of society. Now more than ever, we need all available talent to solve the hard problems facing the world.<\/p>\n

Ken: <\/strong>Relatively few women seemed to have been involved in the Apollo space program, and their contributions were not fully acknowledged at the time. But now there is a larger number and diversity of backgrounds. What\u2019s changed?<\/p>\n

Vinita: <\/strong>Much has changed since Sally Ride became the first US woman in space in 1983. Many women contribute to the space career program today. In 2016 NASA had its first 50 percent female astronaut class<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are still social and cultural barriers girls experience from a young age that society needs to overcome. One is equal access to education.<\/p>\n

Seeing someone on your career path who looks like you helps you believe in yourself. As my career progressed, the number of women I saw around me \u2013 especially in leadership \u2013 decreased. You see that in most STEM industries.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ken: <\/strong>In Rocket Women\u2019s mission statement, you talk about trying to prevent unconscious bias. What kind of unconscious bias is influencing space exploration?<\/p>\n

Vinita: <\/strong>Language represents biases that have been there from the early days of the space program. NASA has made some changes to their language, like changing \u2018manned\u2019 to \u2018crewed.\u2019<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still using space suits designed in the 1970s on the International Space Station (ISS.) We saw repercussions in 2019 with suit design delaying the first all-female spacewalk<\/a>. NASA has been working on a new suit design that can provide for everyone, from the smallest female to the largest male.<\/p>\n

Ken: <\/strong>If you think of the old space race \u2013 cold war era \u2013 versus the new space race, what attitudes and pathways have changed?<\/p>\n

Vinita:<\/strong> The role of global space agencies is shifting. Working with business has been a great step, such as getting astronauts to and from the space station through Elon Musk\u2019s space transportation company SpaceX<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re looking at how the commercial sector will be part of space exploration in future. NASA is working with Axiom Space<\/a> and SpaceX, who will transport an Axiom-trained commander and three private astronauts to the ISS to live there for just over a week.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re about to make space accessible to more people. I look forward to the day everyone can see Earth from space. Astronauts call it the overview effect<\/a>: It reinforces our interconnectedness and shows how fragile Earth is.<\/p>\n

Ken: <\/strong>Space still feels like the rich people\u2019s game: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Richard Branson. It seems you need a few billion in the bank before you can start making space plans.<\/p>\n

Vinita: <\/strong>It mustn\u2019t be just wealthy people who get the chance to see Earth from space.<\/p>\n

When aviation first started, only people with funds could access it. With space exploration, we need backers and investors to support it now so space exploration can become accessible to more people down the line. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For space tourism, we\u2019ll need to develop reusable spacecraft, and that will need funding from business and space agencies. For the first all-civilian space mission, Inspiration4<\/a>, an investor can buy a flight and pay for a member of the public to be aboard too. As a starting point for space tourism, it\u2019s not a bad place.<\/p>\n

Ken: <\/strong>Why are we going back to the Moon?<\/p>\n

Vinita: <\/strong>The interest in returning to the Moon is driven by science, technological development and preparing for future exploration. To get us back to the Moon, NASA is developing the Gateway \u2013 a mini space station in lunar orbit \u2013 with others like the European, Japanese and Canadian space agencies. It\u2019s building on the international cooperation that built the ISS.<\/p>\n

The Moon is also a science destination and port for future space transportation if we want to, for example, go to Mars. It\u2019s a platform to overcome the technical challenges of living and working in deep space. The lunar surface has valuable resources like Helium-3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, the Moon will be the first place humans learn to live on another celestial body. It\u2019s only three days from Earth, and its low gravity and resources make it an ideal place to prepare to go further into space.<\/p>\n