For evidence of how much our culture has changed in the last few decades, consider the scrutiny that astronaut Sally Ride met in 1983, when she was poised to become the first American woman in space. Reporters asked her whether she would wear a bra or makeup on the space shuttle Challenger, how she would deal with menstruation while in orbit, whether she cried on the job.
Ride, then 32 and known for her equilibrium under pressure, politely brushed off the questions, saying that it was “too bad this is such a big deal.” She preferred to focus on the mission, an attitude that stayed consistent through her life. Though Ride’s pioneer status made her a household name, she guarded her privacy carefully, rejecting most offers for endorsements, memoirs, and movies. Her 27-year romantic relationship with a female partner only became public knowledge after Ride’s death on Monday, at 61, of pancreatic cancer.
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Ride preferred that science be her legacy, and she left much to admire. Her expertise ranged from physics to engineering, and she devoted the latter part of her career to helping young people, particularly girls, develop an interest in science. Ride wrote six science books for children and set up programs around the country to make science cool for middle-schoolers. At the time that she hit the peak of her fame, the space program was helping to fuel that excitement. American space ambitions have, sadly, waned in the intervening years. But Ride’s life is a reminder of what we can still do, in space and on the ground — the power of big dreams and big accomplishments.