Crew Member Discloses Mental Health Struggle After Wave of Harassment After Historic Trip
A Vietnamese-American astronaut has opened up regarding her emotional downturn after enduring a massive wave of online abuse in the aftermath of a pioneering women-only spaceflight.
The 34-year-old activist – recognized as a scientist and civil rights advocate – was part of the short-duration mission earlier this year, which also carried celebrity crewmates.
The mission was heavily criticized by some, who questioned its cost and environmental footprint.
Reflecting on the ordeal, the astronaut, who became the pioneer for her community, stated the vicious response overshadowed her achievement under an torrent of sexist abuse.
“I explained the depression could persist for a long time,” Ms. Nguyen stated in a online statement, describing a check-in call from a fellow crew member in the period after the flight.
She portrayed the news reports and online discourse as an barrage beyond typical human coping.
“Stuck in Texas, I spent a week unable to rise from my bed,” she wrote. “Even a month on, a phone call ended with me hanging up, weeping uncontrollably.”
Eclipsed by Backlash
The researcher, who has conducted studies in women's health research and operated research during the flight, said everything she had worked for – including her scientific research and astronaut training to the personal milestone of her roots – was drowned out under the tide of misogyny.
She is best known for her pioneering work championing the cause of survivors of assault.
Her own dream of becoming an astronaut was put on hold after being assaulted during her time as a student, leading to a years-long quest for justice.
The Fog Begins to Lift
Now, eight months after achieving her goal, she noted the heaviest sorrow is beginning to clear, and she expressed gratitude the well-wishers whose kindness pulled her through. “You were my salvation,” she wrote.
She added that even with the backlash, important benefits had come out of the flight, including elevated attention for her women's health research and new advocacy opportunities.
About the Mission
The fully automated spacecraft launched from Texas in April, carrying the all-female team on a brief suborbital flight that passed the Kármán line of space.
The team of pioneers also featured experts in multiple disciplines.
The venture behind the mission is a commercial aerospace company launched by a prominent billionaire entrepreneur.
