WTTW and ITVS present Community Cinema in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. You are invited attend a free screening and discussion about Makers: Women in Space.

Women in Space traces the history of women pioneers in the U.S. space program. Some, like aviators Wally Funk and Jerrie Cobb, passed the same grueling tests as male astronauts, only to be dismissed by NASA, the military, and even Lyndon Johnson, as a distraction. It wasn’t until 1995 that Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a spacecraft. The program includes interviews with Collins, as well as Sally Ride’s classmates Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon and Kathryn Sullivan, and features Mae Jemison, the first woman of color astronaut, and Peggy Whitson, the first female commander of the International Space Station.

Join us for a FREE screening of MAKERS: Women in Space, followed by a community discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing women in STEM fields. The discussion will be moderated by Chicago Tonight correspondent Brandis Friedman. Panelist will include scientists Laura Whyte from the Adler Planetarium, Laura Trouille from Northwestern University, Lucianne Walkowicz from Princeton University, and more. Presenting partners also include Women & Girls Lead, Chicago Foundation for Women, Adler Planetarium, and the Chicago Council on Science and Technology.

Photo: Dr. Mae Carol Jemison, American physician and NASA astronaut