Happy birthday, Valentina Tereshkova! The Russian cosmonaut became the first woman in space when she flew beyond the Earth's atmosphere aboard Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963. To honor the precedent Valentina set for the incredible female astronauts thereafter, we'd like to share some amazing paintings by Ciaran Duffy, an artist who worked on this series featuring only spacefarers. Scroll down for a closer look at Ciaran's work!
Valentina was the first woman in space!
The first female commander of the International Space Station spent more time in space than any other woman at 376 days total.
Ride, Sally Ride! She was the first American woman in space.
Eileen was the first female commander of the NASA shuttle Discovery.
Susan was the first female resident of the International Space Station.
Mae was the first black woman in space.
Svetlana was the first woman to perform a spacewalk.
On April 14, 2010, the highest number of women in space simultaneously — four — served together on the International Space Station.