STAFF REPORT
Not even the sky is off limits for Amanda Nguyen.
Nguyen, a 32-year-old native of Southern California, will make space history as the first woman of Vietnamese origin.
Her longtime dream of going to space and becoming an astronaut was put on hold in 2013 when she experienced sexual assault while pursuing her studies in astrophysics and national security at Harvard University. At that point, she learned that pursuing justice was a difficult and archaic procedure and that, in her words, she had to decide between pursuing justice and pursuing her ambition.
Justice prevailed, improving the quality of life on Earth.
Nguyen succeeded in getting a bill passed by Congress that upholds the rights of victims of sexual assault, primarily by preserving the availability of rape kits and granting survivors’ access to them. Moreover, in 2014, she established Rise, a charity that collaborates with state legislatures to grant survivors’ rights. She received nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 from two members of Congress, one of which was former Orange County representative Mimi Walters. She was also named one of Time’s 2022 Women of the Year.
Now that the “Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights” has been overwhelmingly passed by Congress for almost eight years, the group Space for Humanity has announced that it would be funding her future space travel in a Blue Origin New Shepherd vehicle.
Nguyen claimed: “As somebody whose dreams have always been to go to space but were deferred and delayed — like so many people, so many women, especially, who encounter gender-based violence — for me, learning that I could have this opportunity meant justice in a way.”
She said: “I chose to delay those dreams to fight for these rights, and I’m still able to hold onto that identity of the person who I was before I was hurt.”
She claimed that the journey acknowledges her survivor status and celebrates her history as the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman to fly in space.
According to the website, Space for Humanity is an organization that “sends thoughtfully selected, impact-driven individuals of any walk of life to space to experience the ‘overview effect,’ a cognitive shift brought on by viewing the Earth from space.”
The organization claims that the goal of its Citizen Astronaut Program is to inspire those it sends on space missions to use their extraordinary experience to improve the planet when they return.
Antonio Peronace, executive director of Space for Humanity, said in a statement that Amanda’s extraordinary journey will serve as a long-overdue, inspirational example to many others. “As an organization committed to democratizing space and making it accessible to all the world’s citizens, we’re proud that Amanda and her journey represent the strength, passion and brilliance we want to continue to launch to new heights.”
Born and reared in Corona, Nguyen spends every weekend in Little Saigon, Orange County, a town she describes as a microcosm of the tenacity and determination of immigrants.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without that,” Nguyen remarked. “I’m just so grateful for the community I was able to grow up in in Southern California. There are clear skies in Southern California and looking up at them is helping me make my way to them to touch the sky.”
Her mom fled by boat, and both of her parents are refugees from Vietnam.
In a video announcing her journey, Nguyen stated, “As boat refugees, my family looked to the stars to guide their way to freedom.”
She added in Vietnamese that is translated as “Mom, you swam so I can fly. You crossed the ocean so I could touch the sky.”
While some specifics, like as the date and companion, are still unknown, yet it is reported that Nguyen is getting ready by speaking with other female astronauts, known as the “space sisters,” and gathering their wisdom. In addition, there is physical preparation involved, such as learning how to have lunch in a microgravity setting.
She has discovered that space exploration and her advocacy go hand in hand.
When she found herself in potentially triggering or frightening situations, such as testifying before the U.S. Senate, she taught herself box breathing techniques: hold four, breathe four in, hold four, breathe four out. And she’s using those same procedures at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences, where she trains and conducts testing in a hyperbaric chamber.
Nguyen says: “Innovation lies at the edge of different disciplines and being able to combine them in different ways.”
Knowing that it might take several million years for the photons to reach her eyes, Nguyen raises her gaze to the sky. Understanding how brief human existence is really sobering.
She adds that it fosters appreciation for one’s ability to be aware, make decisions, and exercise one’s right to advocate for causes one believes in. As given: “I am able to be conscious and make choices and have the agency to fight for the things I believe in.”
She also wishes to convey this message to younger girls who could be interested in STEM fields: “Go for it. You don’t have to feel like you are qualified enough to just really go for it. You are already enough, and your dreams really do matter. Even if they seem impossible, just shoot for it.”