BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//sebbo.net//ical-generator//EN NAME:LA County Library X-WR-CALNAME:LA County Library BEGIN:VEVENT UID:79375cbe-a798-43fa-a7ef-1ebd4cecb91b SEQUENCE:0 DTSTAMP:20260825T124810Z DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260402T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260402T120000 SUMMARY:Author Talk: On a Mission: The History of US Women Astronauts with Smithsonian Valerie Neal LOCATION:Virtual Program\nVirtual Program X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Virtual Program;X-APPLE-RA DIUS=10;X-TITLE=Virtual Program:geo:33.9278885,-118.1615468 GEO:33.9278885;-118.1615468 DESCRIPTION:Sally Ride is household name as the first American woman in sp ace\, but scores of equally impressive women have left their mark in space . On a Mission tells the epic journeys of the women who made space for the mselves in a male-dominated field..\nhttps://lacountylibrary.libnet.info/e vent/15877721 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Valerie Neal\, emerita curator from the Sm ithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and expert on human spaceflight\ , interviewed many of the US women astronauts to bring their experiences t o life. She offers a culturally insightful history of their achievements\, the challenges they've faced\, and their distinctive stories. Collectivel y\, they've completed more than 100 space shuttle missions\, and more than 30 long-duration stays on the International Space Station and Russian Spa ce Station Mir\, and they continue to prove themselves in present-day spac e exploration efforts.

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The book includes 50 black-and-white photog raphs to complement the historical account. With its sweeping look from th e first women astronauts to Christina Hammock Koch\, assigned to the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon\, there is no comparably thorough book on America's women astronauts. \;On a Mission \;is an inspiri ng tribute to unsung women's history.

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Register now to take part in this inspirational discussion! \;

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About the Author: \;Val erie Neal is a space historian and Curator Emerita at the Smithsonian Nati onal Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Her specialty is human spacefl ight\, space technology\, and space science in the Space Shuttle era and b eyond. At the Museum\, she collected more than 1500 artifacts of the shutt le era\, curated three exhibitions and eight documentary programs for the Smithsonian Channel (cable TV)\, published books and articles growing from her research\, lectured in the USA and abroad\, and gave many interviews for US and international media. \;

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Before joining the Museum\, she was a writer and editor for some 25 NASA publications on Space Shuttl e and Spacelab missions\, the Hubble Space Telescope and other Great Obser vatories\, space science\, and NASA History. She participated in underwate r astronaut training in Alabama and mission support in Houston for four Sp ace Shuttle missions. She has taught American Studies and writing courses at multiple universities. Valerie Neal holds Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Ame rican Studies and a B.A. degree in English and History.

\nhttps://lacou ntylibrary.libnet.info/event/15877721 URL;VALUE=URI:https://lacountylibrary.libnet.info/event/15877721 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/lacountylibrary/Valerie_Ne al.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR