Civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen has returned to Earth after a groundbreaking trip to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. The mission, which also included pop star Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, entrepreneur Aisha Bowe, and Jeff Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez, marked the first all-female crewed spaceflight since 1963. Lift-off occurred from west Texas at 8:30 am local time, with the capsule landing safely back in the desert just over ten minutes later.
Reflecting on the culmination of a lifelong dream, Nguyen said, “I am so grateful to everyone who made it a reality.” Before embarking on the mission, Nguyen had made a personal vow, stating she had “promised herself to never ever give up.”
Read more: Amanda Nguyen: Survivor. Activist. Astronaut.
Nguyen, celebrated for her work founding the Rise movement and her instrumental role in passing the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act, carried out two scientific experiments during the brief flight. One experiment, in partnership with the Vietnamese National Space Center and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, examined the impact of microgravity on brassica rapa seeds originating from Southeast Asia. This continues prior research conducted on the Mir Space Station and a past New Shepard mission.
The second experiment focused on women’s health, a continuation of Nguyen’s bioastronautical research at the Institute of International Astronomical Sciences (IIAS). This involved examining various wound dressing materials in inorganic mediums under microgravity, with a particular interest in their moisture-wicking properties relevant to menstruation. Nguyen’s research aims to address the significant lack of data on women’s health in space, a gap highlighted by historical anecdotes such as Sally Ride being given 100 tampons for a week-long mission. As the provided text notes, “Almost all astronauts that have flown are men (almost 90%). When spaceflight began, menstruation was used as a reason for why women could not become astronauts.”
Read more: Olivia Munn Slams Blue Origin All-Female Space Mission as “Gluttonous”
Nguyen, who is the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman to travel to space, sees her flight as deeply significant. Before the mission, she stated, “My r*pe could have derailed my astronaut dreams… Fought for survivor rights, rewrote the law, and now in 7 days I’m flying to space.” Reflecting on the journey, she added, “This spaceflight means I get to honour who I was before I became a rape survivor.”
Her heritage as the daughter of a boat refugee who used celestial navigation to find freedom has also been a powerful motivator. The timing of the flight, close to the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam-US war in April 2025, adds another layer of meaning, with Nguyen’s journey seen as “a symbol of reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam and science as a tool for peace.” She also carried 169 Vietnamese lotus seeds on the journey, a symbol of resilience in Vietnamese culture, which will be studied upon their return in collaboration with the Vietnam National Space Center.
The launch was streamed live on Blue Origin’s website and other platforms, drawing considerable attention to this historic all-female mission and the remarkable journey of Amanda Nguyen, who has seamlessly blended her advocacy for survivors with her lifelong ambition to explore space.
