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Shannon Lucid, Ph.D.

BIRTHDAY: January 14, 1943

When Shannon Lucid was a child she wanted to be an explorer of the American West. Unfortunately by the time she was an adult, the American West had been explored. So instead she became an astronaut.

She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry, her master's degree in science, and her Ph.D. in biochemistry. She taught and researched chemistry until she was selected as an astronaut candidate. She is a fully licensed pilot.

Dr. Lucid has flown in space five times, more often than almost any other astronaut. She currently holds the United States single mission space flight endurance record and has logged more hours in space than any other woman. She has traveled 75.2 million miles in 188 days on the Russian Space Station Mir.

Photo from NASA.

AWARDS/HONORS

• First woman to get Congressional Space Medal of Honor - presented by the president of the United States
• Order of Friendship given by Russian President Boris Yeltsin

Search our past database for famous women astronauts, politicians, athletes, mathematicians, authors, and educators: More Women of Achievement.