Petaluma’s Nicole Mann, first Native American woman in space, awed by Mother Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Petaluma native Nicole Aunapu Mann, the first Native American woman in space, said Wednesday she is overwhelmed by the beauty and delicacy of Mother Earth, and is channeling “positive energy” as her five-month mission gets underway.

Speaking from the International Space Station, the NASA astronaut said she’s received lots of prayers and blessings from her family and tribal community. She is a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Northern California.

A U.S. Marine colonel and test pilot, Mann showed off the dream catcher she took up with her, a childhood gift from her mother that she’s always held dear. The small traditional webbed hoop with feathers is used to offer protection, and she said it has given her strength during challenging times.

Years before joining NASA in 2013, when she became the first female fighter pilot to become an astronaut in nearly two decades, she flew combat in Iraq.

READ MORE: Petaluma’s Nicole Mann makes history as first Native American woman in space

“It’s the strength to know that I have the support of my family and community back home and that when things are difficult or things are getting hard or I’m getting burned-out or frustrated, that strength is something that I will draw on to continue toward a successful mission,” Mann told The Associated Press, which gathered questions from members and tribal news outlets across the country.

Mann, 45, said she’s always heeded her mother’s advice on the importance of positive energy, especially on launch day.

“It’s difficult for some people maybe to understand because it's not really tangible,” she said. “But that positive energy is so important, and you can control that energy, and it helps to control your attitude."

After joining NASA, Mann served as the T-38 Safety and Training Officer and as the assistant to the chief astronaut for exploration, where she led the astronaut corps in the development of the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System and Exploration Ground Systems for missions to the moon, according to the NASA website.

In a 2013 Press Democrat article about Mann being named one of NASA’s newest astronauts, Howard Aunapu called his daughter a “real dynamo.”

“The big joke about her is she needs a 28-hour day to fit in everything she’s planning to do,” he said.

Mann has earned multiple awards throughout her career, including an induction into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame, and at least a half dozen medals from her military career and more.

Born in Petaluma, her family later moved to Penngrove, where she attended Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park. She resides in Houston with her husband, a retired Navy pilot, and their 10-year-old son.

On Wednesday, while speaking from the space station, Mann said it’s important to recognize there are all types of people there. It’s currently home to three Americans, three Russians and one Japanese astronaut.

“What that does is it just highlights our diversity and how incredible it is when we come together as a human species, the wonderful things that we can do and that we can accomplish,” she said.

While fascinated with stars and space as a child, Mann said she did not understand who became astronauts or even what they did. “Unfortunately, in my mind at that time, it was not in the realm of possibilities,” she said.

In 2013, Howard Aunapu told The Press Democrat that Mann announced during her junior year at Rancho Cotate that she wanted to attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis. There she became captain of the Navy soccer team and was one of the most decorated women’s soccer players in Patriot League history.

Taking a ride in an F/A 18 during her academy years confirmed her interest in aviation.

After earning her mechanical engineering degree at Stanford University, she enrolled in flight school.

Now, she’s taking in the sweeping vistas of Earth from 260 miles up and hoping to see the constellations, as she encourages youngsters to follow their dreams.

READ MORE: Teachers, former classmates ‘very proud’ of Petaluma astronaut

In 2020, during a virtual presentation to about 90 students at University Elementary School in Rohnert Park, she extolled the benefits of a future in spaceflight.

Her virtual presentation was part of a school initiative to expose students to different careers involving science, technology, engineering, art and math, and show them unique jobs young people often dream about are attainable for Sonoma County youth.

“If there’s anybody in the classroom today that thinks it might be cool to be an astronaut, it might be cool to go to the moon or Mars,” Mann said. “You guys are hitting right in the perfect time for when we’re going to need astronauts when you’re grown up and ready to go.”

On Wednesday, as she described Earth from space, it was clear she was affected by what she was experiencing.

“The emotions are absolutely overwhelming,” she said. “It is an incredible scene of color, of clouds and land, and it’s difficult not to stay in the cupola (lookout) all day and just see our planet Earth and how beautiful she is, and how delicate and fragile she is against the blackest of black that I’ve ever seen — space — in the background.”

Mann rocketed into orbit Oct. 5 with SpaceX. She'll be up there until March.

The first Native American in space, in 2002, was now-retired astronaut John Herrington of the Chickasaw Nation.

The Press Democrat contributed to this report.