The crew has gotten attention for the firsts beyond the mission itself. Glover will be the first person of color to leave Earth orbit, Koch the first woman to do so and Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, the first non-American.
“We do think about it a lot,” Wiseman said of the firsts. “We are not doing this for the superlatives. We’re doing this because it’s a unique opportunity. We are going for all and by all.”
“One facet of this is the tension,” Glover said, describing a dichotomy he and others on the crew feel of wanting to inspire young people. “But I also hope we are pushing in the other direction so one day we don’t have to talk about these firsts.”
“Although it is something to celebrate, a bunch of firsts,” Koch said, “if there is something to celebrate, it is that we are at a time when everyone who has a dream gets to work equally hard to achieve that dream.”
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