Foundations for Flight

Mann was born and raised in California, where she balanced her time between playing soccer and studying math and science. She’s a member of the Wailacki Tribe of the Confederated Tribes of Round Valley Indian Reservation, and while she was fascinated by the stars and space, becoming an astronaut didn’t seem possible. While she was growing up, there were no Native American astronauts to look up to– she wasn’t even sure how someone became one.

When she graduated from high school, she combined her strong work ethic with her athleticism and passion for STEM at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where she studied engineering and led the school’s soccer team to its first conference title. Following in her father’s footsteps to serve her country, she joined the U.S. Marine Corps, determined to become a pilot after just one plane ride in the back seat of an F/A-18 Hornet.

Colonel Mann’s Military Career

Two years after graduating from the Naval Academy, Mann earned her Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford in 2001 and immediately went to Florida for flight training. She was deployed twice during her military career, logging over 2,500 flight hours in 25 aircraft types, completed 200 carrier landings, and has flown 47 combat missions.

After her deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mann reported to the US Naval Test Pilot School. Over four years, she served as a test pilot, testing new and experimental aircraft until she was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2013.

Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann

Over 6,000 people applied at the same time as Mann to become an astronaut– she was one of eight chosen. Her two years of training included learning the International Space Station (ISS) systems, wilderness and water training, how to conduct spacewalks, learning the Russian language, robotics, and other critical skills needed to succeed in space.

On October 5th, 2022 she launched into space, making her the first Indigenous woman to do so. Mann, as the commander of her team on the NASA SpaceX Crew-5 mission, took charge of the journey to the ISS, where they stayed for nearly six months. While on the ISS, Mann took two spacewalks to perform maintenance on the station and conducted groundbreaking research, studying how plants and human tissues grow in zero gravity that benefitted the future of life on Earth and in space. She came back to earth, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, on March 11th, 2023, where her family met her.

The First Indigenous Woman in Space

When Mann went to space, she brought the same dreamcatcher that used to hang in her childhood bedroom. It was a gift from her mother, originally meant to capture bad dreams and let the good ones filter through, and transformed into the inspiration and a reminder of the support she had back at home.

When she made history in 2022, she knew that she wanted to give back right away to motivate others. In space she participated in video calls with Native American schools across the U.S., hoping to show tribal youth what’s possible for them. Back on Earth, she regularly visits schools and Native communities to share her story.

“I believe Native kids will look up to Nicole, inspired that they can pursue their dreams as well,” said John Herrington, the Chickasaw astronaut who was the first enrolled tribal member to travel to space.

Today, Colonel Nicole Mann lives in Houston, Texas with her husband Travis. She’s training for the Artemis program, which aims to explore the moon for the first time since the 1970s and is hoping to be the first woman and person of color to step on the moon in 2025.

“As a kid, you should dream,” Mann said to the Military Times when she was named the 2024 Marine of the Year. “If you want to explore, if you want to go to the stars, that’s something that’s within your reach.”