For A Long Time, Society

My Parents Must Have Done A Great Job. Anytime I Wanted To Pursue Something That They Weren't Familiar With, That Was Not Part Of Their Lifestyle, They Let Me Go Ahead And Do It.

I Felt Very Honored, And I Knew That People Would Be Watching Very Closely, And I Felt It Was Very, Very Important That I Do A Good Job.

Yes, I Did Feel A Special Responsibility To Be The First American Woman In Space.

For Whatever Reason, I Didn't Succumb To The Stereotype That Science Wasn't For Girls. I Got Encouragement From My Parents. I Never Ran Into A Teacher Or A Counselor Who Told Me That Science Was For Boys. A Lot Of My Friends Did.

Astronauts Will Remain The Explorers, The Pioneers-the First To Go Back To Moon And On To Mars. But I Think It's Really Important To Make Space Space Available To As Many People As We Can. It's Going To Be A While Before We Can Launch People For Less Than $20 Million A Ticket. But That Day Is Coming.