Manju Bangalore to lead Virgin Galactic 2027 microgravity periods study
In 2027, Indian American engineer Manju Bangalore will lead a Virgin Galactic mission focused on how periods work in microgravity.
She's tackling a big gap in space science; since most astronauts use hormonal birth control to skip their periods, there's barely any real data on what actually happens.
Bangalore says it's time for spacecraft to be designed with everyone's biology in mind so more women can join future missions.
Bangalore started operation period
This research is part of Virgin Galactic's and aims to make space exploration more inclusive.
Inspired by astronaut Kalpana Chawla as a kid, Bangalore has worked at NASA and started Operation Period to push for menstrual freedom.
She also points out that tech from space missions, like eye-tracking systems and mirror-mapping techniques, used in modern LASIK procedures, has improved life on Earth, so better understanding women's health in space could have benefits far beyond the stars.