First person on Mars to be a woman: NASA

WASHINGTON: The first person to set foot on Mars is likely to be a woman, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has said.

While Bridenstine didn’t identify a specific person, he said women are at the forefront of the space agency’s upcoming plans.

Asked if a woman will go to the Moon for the first time, Bridenstine said “The answer is absolutely. In fact, it is likely to be a woman, the first next person on the Moon. It is also true that the first person on Mars is likely to be a woman,” Bridenstine said during a recent interview on the science and technology radio talk show Science Friday. NASA recently announced that it will have its first all-female spacewalk at the end of the month, when astronauts Anne Mcclain and Christina Koch will get to float around in space.

NASA TO STUDY APOLLO MISSION MOON SAMPLES

NASA has awarded $8 million to nine science teams to study the untouched samples collected from the Moon by Apollo missions in the 1970s. “By studying these precious lunar samples for the first time, a new generation of scientists will help advance our understanding of our lunar neighbour and prepare for the next era of exploration of the Moon and beyond,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’S science mission directorate. AGENCIES BOSTON:FALLOUT from a sweeping college admissions scandal swiftly spread on Wednesday, with actress Lori Loughlin surrendering ahead of a Los Angeles court hearing and a Silicon Valley hedge fund replacing its leader.

Loughlin and fellow actress Felicity Huffman headline the list of some 50 people charged in documents unveiled in Boston that describe a scheme to cheat the admissions process at eight sought-after schools. The parents bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into selective schools, authorities said. Loughlin turned herself in to the FBI and is scheduled for a court appearance, spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. Prosecutors allege Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, paid $500,000 to have their two daughters labelled as recruits to the University of Southern California crew team, even though neither is a rower. Giannulli was released on Tuesday on a $1 million bond.

The scandal also ensnared movers and shakers in the corporate world. The Palo Alto, California, hedge fund Hercules Capital announced on Wednesday it was replacing its leader, Manuel Henriquez, who was arrested in New York City on Tuesday and released on $500,000 bail.

Mark Riddell — an administrator for Bradenton, Florida’s IMG Academy, which was founded by renowned tennis coach Nick Bollettieri and bills itself as the world’s largest sports academy — was suspended from his job late Tuesday after he was accused of taking college admissions tests as part of the scheme.