2 PS: [5/1 & 5/5] Fictional Astronaut 2000s Movie Portrayals (Natl' Space Day / Natl' Astronaut Day)

@Jessica​ Thanks, both names have been corrected.

Interestingly, it is not surprising to see how much harder I had to struggle to fill the cinematic female astronaut side of this 2000s decade poll, while I easy had double and maybe triple the number of same quality cinematic male astronauts from the same decade that ended just 15 years ago. The 2010s version of the same poll pair was still unequal, but the 2010s version was much easier than the 2000s version to fill out with double the number of solid female movie astronauts than were available a decade prior. It is good the disparity in media representations is shrinking, but bad it was wide as it was in the first place, especially with the futurist focus that most science fiction supposedly have.

However, I am encouraged to see dramatic change in the composition of the real-life astronaut corps in just the past six years going from 12% (in 2020) to 44% (in 2025). Hopefully, we will see a change in representation on the big screen, based on the recent studies women are better suited to space travel and living in space than men based on a number of metrics.

Leading the charge were accomplished women from diverse backgrounds: Gayle King, renowned American journalist; Katy Perry, one of the best-selling female artists in history and a dedicated children’s rights advocate; Aisha Bowe, a NASA astrophysicist; Amanda Nguyen, a Vietnamese American activist, astronaut, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and survivor; and Kerianne Flynn, a former fashion HR executive and film producer.