By BeLatina Daily
Man’s landing on the moon was just that: the landing of (white) man on the moon. The thought of a woman or a person of color landing on the natural satellite has rarely been imagined. However, NASA has managed to change that.
The space agency has launched its first digital graphic novel, imagining the arrival of the first woman on the Moon.
Titled “First Woman: NASA’s Promise for Humanity,” the graphic novel tells the story of a fictional astronaut named Callie Rodriguez, the first woman and person of color to land on the lunar surface. Along with her robot companion RT, Rodriguez seeks to inspire the next generation of explorers.
“The story of Callie captures how passion, dedication, and perseverance allow us to turn our dreams into reality,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy in a statement. “Callie, much like myself, grew her skills, seized learning opportunities, and overcame challenges to become a NASA astronaut. Her diversity is reflected in our own astronaut corps today – it’s important we can see ourselves as the explorers among the stars.”
The 40-page digital comic book describes NASA’s technologies for traveling, landing, and exploring the moon and is transformed into an interactive medium through its Android or iOS app.
“We crafted this graphic novel and digital ecosystem to share NASA’s work in a different and exciting way,” said Derek Wang, director of communications for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “We set out to make the content both engaging and accessible. From space fans of all ages to hardworking educators looking for new ways to get students excited about STEM, we hope that there is something for everyone to enjoy.”
NASA plans to release a Spanish version of the first issue of the comic book, “From Dream to Reality,” on the website in the future.
To learn more about the graphic novel and interactive experiences, visit www.nasa.gov/specials/calliefirst.
