Getting into space in the 20th century was backed by massive military tension between the world’s two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. The huge investments made in getting out there paid off in huge developments in technology and science we take for granted today.

To even be considered for participation for massive state efforts to stare down at our home world from a tin can in nothingness, you essentially have to be some sort of übermensch with physical and mental superpowers. Unbeknownst to most, some of the mutants who’ve attempted to get their feet in the airlock hatch have, since the earliest days, been women. Here are a few of their striking stories.

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