This post is written by Sam Humphrey, a student researcher, astrobotanist, and contributor to astrobotany.com, speaking on International Women’s Day.
The first time I ever heard of astrobotany was when Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul earned NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement medal. Her amazing research was my introduction to astrobotany, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I can’t help but wonder what my life would look like without her.
There are so many women doing all kinds of wonderful astrobotany-related work, from researching basic plant biology to figuring out how to feed people in space (and on Earth) and facilitating the collaborations that make this work possible. I recognize the skills, intellect, and innovation that they bring to astrobotany, and I’m grateful that they’ve shown me how to reach beyond what I thought was possible for myself.
Some wonderful stories of women and their contributions to astrobotany:
- Dr. Mary Musgrave: The Effects of Gravity on Plant Growth and Development
- Dr. Gioia Massa: Growing Generations of Plant Scientists
- Christine Escobar: Gardeners of the Galaxy Podcast
- Dr. LaShelle Spencer: Which plants are best suited for a life among the stars?
- Amy Padolf: Learning from History, Preparing for the Future (TEDx Talk)
- Dr. Mary Hummerick: Space Trash May Make Radiation Shields
- Dr. Christina Khodadad: Space lettuce
- Jess Bunchek: Planting Crops in Antarctica Aims to Benefit Astronauts on Long-Duration Missions
- Dr. Christina Johnson: Microgreens on the Gardeners of the Galaxy Podcast
- Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul: ISS National Laboratory’s Meet The Scientist
- Dr. Aubrie O’Rourke: Aubrie O’Rourke Trained Dolphins, Researched HIV, and Is Helping NASA Get to Mars
- Dr. Lucie Poulet: Meet Lucie Poulet, Analog Astronaut and NASA researcher
- Dr. Sarah Swanson: International Space Station Live Interview
- Dr. Ye Zhang: Exploration Research and Technology Spotlight
- Dr. Melanie Correll: Experiment Examines Plant Growth in Space