Houston: Three women, who are among the
seven crew members of space shuttle Discovery slated to lift
off on April 5 for the International Space Station, have
called for more women to engage in space-related jobs.
At a preflight news conference held yesterday at NASA`s
Johnson Space Center here, 39-year-old Naoko Yamazaki of the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said she wants more young
women to be interested in science and engineering.
She said that she herself was inspired by Chiaki Mukai,
the first Japanese female astronaut who flew in space twice in
1994 and 1998.
Female astronauts Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger and
Stephanie Wilson were also present at the press conference.
It will be the first time since 1999 and the third time
that three women have boarded a space shuttle. They are
expected to join another woman in a long-term mission on the
ISS, bringing the number of women concurrently in space to
four for the first time.
PTI
