Highlights
- Amanda Nguyen, 34, became first Vietnamese woman in space during April's 11-minute Blue Origin flight.
- Scientist and activist reveals she couldn't leave bed for a week following "tsunami of harassment" .
- All-female crew mission marked first since 1963 but faced criticism over expense and environmental impact.
A Vietnamese-American astronaut has revealed she battled severe depression after receiving a "tsunami of harassment" following the first all-female space trip since 1963.
Amanda Nguyen, a 34-year-old scientist and civil rights activist, was part of the historic 11-minute Blue Origin space flight in April, which also included pop star Katy Perry and journalist Lauren Sánchez, wife of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.
The mission attracted significant criticism for its expense and environmental impact, triggering an intense backlash that left Nguyen struggling with her mental health for months.
Speaking candidly on Instagram, Nguyen who became the first Vietnamese woman to reach space said the experience saw her dreams "buried under an avalanche of misogyny."
She described the news coverage and social media reaction as an "onslaught no human brain has evolved to endure."
When fellow crew member Gayle King, a US news anchor, called to check on her days after the flight, Nguyen admitted "I told her my depression might last for years."
The scientist, who researches women's health and conducted numerous experiments during the flight, revealed she couldn't leave her Texas accommodation for a week and remained bedridden.
A month later, she had to hang up on a senior Blue Origin staff member because she "could not speak through tears."
Historic mission impact
Nguyen explained that everything she "had worked for as a scientist, my women's health research, the years I had trained for this moment, the experiments I operated in space, the history that was being made as the Vietnamese woman astronaut, on the 50th anniversary of the US-Vietnam war, as the child of boat refugees" was overshadowed by misogyny.
Most recognised for protecting sexual assault survivors' civil rights, Nguyen had postponed her astronaut ambitions after being raped at university and pursuing a years-long justice campaign, she told the Guardian in March.
Eight months on, she says the "fog of grief has started to lift." Thanking supporters, she wrote "You all saved me."
Despite the backlash, Nguyen acknowledged "overwhelming good" emerged from the flight, including increased attention to her women's health research and opportunities to meet world leaders regarding her advocacy work.
The New Shepard rocket carried the six-woman crew including aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe and film producer Kerianne Flynn on the fully automated flight from Texas.
