Eight female astronauts training to go to the moon were asked not about their mission test, but rather about make-up and men this week.
Russia plans to send an all-female crew to travel to the moon and back by 2029 (without landing). But first, they’ll complete a simulation that began on Wednesday.
For the duration, the eight women are living in isolation.
“It will be particularly interesting in terms of psychology,” said the institute’s director Igor Ushakov.
But instead of being asked any thoughtful psychological questions, they were asked how they’d cope without make-up and men.
According to media, Darya Komissarova, one of the eight scientifically trained cosmonauts responded, “We are already beautiful without makeup.”
Anna Kussmaul was more direct: “Those who will take part in an experiment are not concerned there won’t be any men in their crew. We are here to do our job and we don’t have time to think about men.
Though Russia sent the first woman into space — Valentina Tereshkova — in 1963, it quickly fell behind. To date, it has only sent four women into space, while the worldwide total tops 100.
This also isn’t the first time that sexist questions were asked of a female cosmonaut.
In September, Elena Serova — who became the first female Russian cosmonaut on the International Space Station — fielded questions about makeup and hair.
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