Helen Sharman 1963
- occupation:
- Astronaut, Broadcaster, Chemist, Engineer, Lecturer
- Nationality:
- British
- born in:
- Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Helen Sharman is the first British astronaut to go into space. She studied chemistry at the University of Sheffield and worked in research and development at GEC in London followed by Mars Confectionery in Slough.
Helen answered an advertisement on the radio, calling for astronaut applicants. Helen was one of two Britons selected out of nearly 13,000 applicants in 1989. The mission was called, Project Juno, and its aim was to send a Briton up to the Russian space station, Mir. She had rigorous training including high g-forces, motion sickness, technical skills, launch preparation, weightlessness, spacecraft operations, emergency siutations and how to work in space. During her two-week mission in 1991, Helen conducted medical, agricultural and chemical experiments. She also took seeds into space and back again so that UK students could investigate the effects of the space environment on the seeds compared with the environment on Earth.
Since her return from space, Helen has worked as a manager at the National Physical Laboratory and at Imperial College London. She is also a successful science communicator.
