Mann set to be first Native American woman in Space

Photo by: NASA
Photo by: NASA

(Houston, TX) -- A member of Northern California's Wailaki tribe is set to become the first Native American woman in space.

Marine Corps Colonel Nicole Aunapu Mann will be NASA's mission commander for an upcoming mission aboard a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station.

The mission is scheduled for a September 29th launch.

Chickasaw Nation member John Herrington was the first Native American man to go to space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour back in 2002.