First person on Mars may be a woman, says NASA chief Jim Bridenstine

Washington: The first person to set foot on Mars is likely to be a woman, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has said.

While Bridenstine did not identify a specific person, he said that women are at the forefront of the US space agency’s upcoming plans. Asked if a woman will go to the Moon for the first time, Bridenstine said “The answer is absolutely. In fact, it is likely to be a woman, the first next person on the Moon.”

“It is also true that the first person on Mars is likely to be a woman,” Bridenstine said during a recent interview on the science and technology radio talk show "Science Friday." NASA recently announced that it will have its first all-female spacewalk at the end of the month.

First all-female spacewalk on March 29

• Two U.S. astronauts will make first all-female spacewalk if all goes to plan.
• Anne McClain and Christina Koch would leave International Space Station for a spacewalk on March 29.
• McClain had arrived at the space station on December 3.
• We're getting suits ready, setting the procedures, and getting the team ready, McClain said.
• Last year, their spacewalk was delayed as they waited for others to join in
• mid-March.
• NASA said women are at the forefront of agency's upcoming plans.