A Galaxy of Her Own: Amazing Stories of Women in Space
As a child, Libby Jackson would look up at the night sky and dream. She didn’t think a UK citizen could ever work in the space industry, but she studied hard at school, nurturing her passion for puzzle-solving and computers. Now she’s a leading expert in human space flight. Her book shares her story, and those of many other bold women who pushed beyond the barriers placed before them because of gender, race, class and nationality.
A Galaxy of Her Own is an inspirational celebration of these women’s contributions to one of humanity’s greatest projects: the understanding and exploration of the universe beyond our own planet.
Each woman or group of women gets a short, snappy biography and an accompanying illustration. Jackson doesn’t just highlight pioneering astronauts like Valentina Tereshkova and Sally Ride. She also shares the stories of women who worked in the shadows, who never made it into space themselves but whose skills and ambitions were vital to the achievements of others. This includes female pilots, engineers, programmers, nutritionists and researchers, and even the unnamed women who physically wove the code for the Apollo mission using copper wire. The illustrations by students from the London College of Communications are fascinatingly varied, with the stunning, reverential ode to the brilliance of Katherine Johnson as a particular highlight.
