Introductions Necessary

Peggy Whitson always wanted to be an astronaut and she achieved her dream, becoming the first woman to command the ISS. Image: NASA. Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Meet Dr. Katherine Freese, an astrophysicist studying dark matter and dark energy. Image: TEDxVienna (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED) Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

There’s plenty of science on display at the Super Bowl, and Ainissa Ramirez is able to tell you all about it. Image: TED (CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED) Join Us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Jedidah Isler wanted to study the stars since she was first gifted a telescope at age 12, now she’s an astrophysicist. Image: NASA (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed ) Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

It’s Wear Red Day, a day to raise awareness of women’s risks for heart disease. In honor of the day, meet Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz, a cardiologist who is changing the understanding of women’s health. Image: NIH (CC BY-NC 2.0 Deed) Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green is pioneering the use of lasers and nanoparticles to fight cancer. Image Courtesy of the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation. Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Aprille Ericsson-Jackson is an aerospace engineer at NASA, and was the first African-American woman to get a PhD in engineering at Howard University. Image: NASA. Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Dr. Wanda M. Austin started at The Aerospace Corporation as an entry level engineer rising all the way to CEO and President. Image: NASA. Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Dr. Laurel Clark was a decorated Navy medic before she became an astronaut aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Image: NASA. Don't forget to check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Four new elements are joining the periodic table. Three of them thanks to a team led by Dawn Shaughnessy. Image: Wikimedia. Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Andrea Mueller has always loved racing, and now she’s a lead race engineer in NASCAR helping lead Team Penske to victory. Image: Wikimedia. Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Thanks to the work of Alice Evans, we can drink milk knowing that it’s been pasteurized to remove harmful bacteria. Image: Wikimedia. Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ninehourfilms

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the tragic explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger which killed its seven crew members including mission specialist Judith Resnik. Image: NASA

Lilli Hornig was a member of the Manhattan Project, and witnessed the first atomic bomb tests. Image: Wikimedia / Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Meet Esther Lederberg, a microbiologist who made many influential discoveries. Image: Wikimedia.

Meet the first woman to drive on Mars, NASA’s Ashley Stroupe. Image: NASA/JPL.

Astronomer Annie Jump Cannon found star classification systems didn’t fit her needs, so she created a new one that we still use today. Image: Wikimedia.

Meet Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree. Image: Wikimedia

Roberta Bondar was both the first neurologist and the first Canadian woman in space. Image: Wikimedia.

In the 1970’s Tu Youyou used research into traditional Chinese medicine to discover and synthesize a revolutionary malaria treatment. Image Source: Wikimedia (Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0)