--- title: First Native-American Woman in Space on Earth's Fragility description: Nicole Mann gives her first interview from the International Space Station. She is the first Native American woman in space. canonical: https://time.com/6223497/nicole-mann-astronaut-speaks-from-space/ author: Jeffrey Kluger article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-10-20T19:47:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:40:56.271Z article:section: Science og:title: Speaking From Orbit, the First Native-American Woman in Space Reflects on Earth's Fragility og:description: Nicole Mann gives her first interview from the International Space Station og:url: https://time.com/6223497/nicole-mann-astronaut-speaks-from-space/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted92056be33ae19a/698a368e47ca384cd43ba1ba/Nicole-Mann.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4355 og:image:height: 2450 og:image:alt: SpaceX Crewed Mission Launches To International Space Station og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Speaking From Orbit, the First Native-American Woman in Space Reflects on Earth's Fragility twitter:description: Nicole Mann gives her first interview from the International Space Station twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted92056be33ae19a/698a368e47ca384cd43ba1ba/Nicole-Mann.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Speaking From Orbit, the First Native-American Woman in Space Reflects on Earth's Fragility > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=0ebaba1d-aa4b-43ea-8e75-3c91cc2f8d67&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Speaking From Orbit, the First Native-American Woman in Space Reflects on Earth's Fragility [Watch (HLS stream): Speaking From Orbit, the First Native-American Woman in Space Reflects on Earth's Fragility](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Uz78nKVF.m3u8) (2:55)  _Published 2022-10-20. Nicole Mann, a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, has long treasured the dream catcher her mother gave her when she was a child, and does not discount the help it offered her when she flew 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, beginning in 2003._  by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large Oct 20, 2022 7:47 PM UTC Nicole Mann, a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, has long treasured the dream catcher her mother gave her when she was a child, and does not discount the help it offered her when she flew 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, beginning in 2003.  by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large Oct 20, 2022 7:47 PM UTC Nicole Mann, a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, has long treasured the dream catcher her mother gave her when she was a child, and does not discount the help it offered her when she flew 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, beginning in 2003. Earlier this month, Mann, 45, now a NASA astronaut, blasted off aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for the International Space Station (ISS), becoming the first Native-American woman in [space](https://time.com/tag/space/). And her dream catcher came along for the ride. Since her launch on Oct. 5, the media have been clamoring to talk to her and this week she gave her first interview, to the [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/space-exploration-science-native-americans-140207d4eaa918dc50e33e8c09b8b7bc)—and spoke of the power she draws from her tribal community on Earth. “It’s the strength to know that I have the support of my family and community back home and that when things are difficult or … I’m getting burned-out or frustrated, that strength is something that I will draw on,” she said. As for the famed “overview effect”—the sense of awe astronauts describe upon looking down on the Earth from space—Mann experienced it straightaway. “It is an incredible scene of color, of clouds and land,” she said, “and it’s difficult not to stay in the cupola all day and just see our planet Earth and how beautiful she is, and how delicate and fragile she is.” That overview perspective is especially important as a war continues to rage on the surface of our planet, with Russian troops now in the ninth month of their invasion of Ukraine. The crew aboard the ISS includes three Russian cosmonauts, three American astronauts, and one astronaut from Japan—and the power of that [international collaboration](https://time.com/6220640/us-russian-space-station-collaboration/) is not lost on Mann. “What that does,” she says, “is just highlight our diversity and how incredible it is when we come together as a human species, the wonderful things that we can do and that we can accomplish.” ## Transcript First one through the hatch is going to be Nicole man. Commander of dragon and now the first Native American woman to live and stay aboard the International Space Station. I feel very proud to be on board the space station and certainly to represent Native Americans and Indigenous people on board. I think it's important that we recognize that there are all different types of people on board, the International Space Station, not only from different countries but from different backgrounds and different nationalities. What that does is it just highlights our diversity and how incredible it is when we come together as a human species. The wonderful things that we can do and that we can accomplish. There was some boards at Nasa, without people that have four digit is background or that are natives that have come together and I have followed on the mission because they heard that a Native American is going to space and that has excited them. I think that's great. It's good for the community, hopefully and Spa. There's young children and hopefully it allows them to open up their mind and see the incredible things that we're doing on board spacestation. The only personal thing that I brought in the along those lines, as a dream catcher from my mother and that's something that I've always held dear as a child. I know it helped me through some tough times as a child, when I would have a hard time going back to sleep. And so I think that the strength I find in that is a gift from my mother. It's the strength to know that my have the support of my family and Community back home. And that when things are difficult or things are getting hard or I'm getting burned out or frustrated that strength is something that I will drawn to continue for the successful Mission, I brought it out. It's a smart device, small one because spaces are limited on the International Space Station. But it's, it's pretty amazing in microgravity because it just floats and the and the feathers kind of go every which way. And so I have that in my crew quarters every night, you do to remind me of my family and my community. I think they space, exploration does a lot for us looking Beyond low-earth orbit, but it also does a lot to benefit humans on Earth. I think it's part of our human nature to explore to investigate to conduct scientific research, that allows us to expand to grow and to learn. It's difficult to explain because the emotions are absolutely overwhelming. It is an incredible scene of color of clouds and land and it's difficult not to stay in the cupola all day and just see our planet Earth and how beautiful she is and how delicate and fragile. 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