nuclear-news

Space radiation concerns holding back female astronauts, they say NBC News, Miriam Kramer, 31 Aug 13, “……….Depending on when you fly a space mission, a female will fly only 45 to 50 percent of the missions that a male can fly,” Peggy Whitson, the former chief of NASA’s Astronaut Corps, said. “That’s a pretty confining limit in terms of opportunity. I know that they are scaling the risk to be the same, but the opportunities end up causing gender discrimination based on just the total number of options available for females to fly. (That’s) my perspective.” [Radiation Threat for Mars-Bound Astronauts (Video)]……..

“I think that the current standards are too confining for exposure limits based on my personal experience and because I think it limits careers more than it is necessary,” Whitson said during an Institute of Medicine Workshop on Ethics Principles and Guidelines for Health Standards for Long Duration and Exploration Class Spaceflights requested by NASA on July 25.

“In my case, if I had a Y chromosome, I would be qualified,” Whitson added. “Because I have two X’s, I’m not.”…. http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space-radiation-concerns-holding-back-female-astronauts-8C11043076