Woman's Hour

What is the future of spaceflight? In October, the first all-female spacewalk was conducted by Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, as they made repairs to the exterior of the International Space Station. As space missions become easier to conduct, the novelty of an all-female astronaut team will wear off. But there are still some barriers to women astronauts. To discuss the importance of diversity in space, Jane speaks to the first British astronaut, Helen Sharman, who visited Mir, the Russian space station, in 1991. Alongside Helen is Dr Varsha Jain, a gynaecological researcher interested in the physiological impact of spaceflight and zero gravity on human physiology, and Liz Seward a senior space strategist at Airbus discussing when humanity will colonise the moon and when the first woman will set foot on Mars. Femke Halsema is Amsterdam’s first female mayor and she says she wants to make sex work in the red light district safer. The plan is to crack down on human trafficking and the humiliation women working