Woman of the Week: Chiaki Mukai

Welcome to our 32nd Woman of the Week!Today we will be discussing Chiaki Mukai, a Japanese astronaut! Enjoy!

Accomplishments

1. Mukai was the first Japanese woman and Asian woman in space.

2. Mukai is also a certified cardiovascular surgeon with around 60 peer reviewed scientific publications.

3. Mukai has 556 hours in space.

Chiaki Mukai was born on May 6, 1952 in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. She graduated from Keio Girls High School in 1971 and moved on to receive two doctorates in medicine(1977) and physiology(1988). In 1989, she became a board certified surgeon by the Japan Surgical Society, and became resident or staff at multiple hospitals throughout Japan(Kanagawa, Tochigi, Shizuoka Prefecture, etc.). In 1983, Mukai was chief resident in cardiovascular surgery at Keio Hospital. Throughout her educational career, Mukai was studious and driven to pursue her passion in science(Payload Specialist Astronaut Bio: Chiaki Mukai 10/03).

However, she is most known for her career as an astronaut with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) and NASA. Mukai was selected as a payload specialist(essentially individuals selected by commercial/research organizations) for flights STS-65 in 1994 and STS-95 in 1988. On these flights she and her team studied the impact of space on the cardiovascular, nervous, bone, and muscle metabolism system. Mukai accomplished not only being the first Japanese woman, but the Asian woman in space and has 556 hours logged for her time there(BIOGRAPHY: Chiaki Mukai – Astronaut). Her career doesn't stop there though: along with being a deputy mission scientist for STS-107 in 2003, Mukai worked at the Space Biomedical Research Center at Johnson Space Center(NASA), is a visiting professor, and is the vice president of the Tokyo University of Science. Mukai remains working at JAXA as a director and technical counselor(Chiaki Mukai - Wikipedia).

Chaiki Mukai has won multiple awards/medals from the 1990s until now, including the Legion of Honor by the French government, Outstanding Service Award by the Society of Japanese women Scientists, etc. When many of us think of astronauts, WOC/POC may not come to mind, however Mukai changes that as a pioneer for Japanese space research. Mukai not only empowers people to pursue the sciences, but she also teaches us to not limit ourselves to one path, and that anybody can do it all with hard work.

This is a Woman of the Week article, a weekly deep dive into an amazing women of color. For more incredible stories like this one, check out our article on Sarah Winnemucca and Viola Davis! Make sure to follow us at @likeagirlglobalon Instagram for more updates and original content!