Hairstyles of a cosmonaut

Yelena Serova is Russia's first female cosmonaut in 17 years and became the country's fourth woman in space when she blasted off for the international space station last week.

The 38-year-old space engineer has been training for seven years for the role, but still found chauvinism was rife at a press conference before the launch.

Born in a small village in Russia's far east, Ms Serova studied engineering at the prestigious Moscow Aviation Institute and is more than qualified for the job. She worked as an engineer at the spaceship manufacturers RKK Energia and at the mission control centre before being selected as a future cosmonaut.

However, during the press conference it seemed reporters were more interested in how she wears her hair and copes with her responsibilities as a mother. She was asked how she would maintain her relationship with her 11-year-old daughter while she was away, and how she would look after her hair on board the ISS.

At first she took the questions in good humour but it soon became apparent that her patience was wearing thin.

"Can I ask a question, too: aren't you interested in the hair styles of my colleagues?" she asked. "My flight is my job. "I'll be the first Russian woman who will fly to the ISS. I feel a huge responsibility towards the people who taught and trained us and I want to tell them: we won't let you down!"

Valentina Tereshkova was the first Soviet woman in space in 1963. To date just three Soviet or Russian women have been in space.