On June 18, 1983, she made history aboard the space shuttle. America's first woman in space had joined NASA after responding to a newspaper ad. "I knew that's what I wanted to do," she said.

Ahead of her 1983 space flight, NASA suggested sending astronaut Sally Ride with 100 tampons for the week-long trip. (That's too many.) In 2020, comedian Marcia Belsky sang a song about it.

For a limited time beginning next year, the U.S. Mint will issue quarters honoring women from history. The first batch celebrates icons in civil rights, politics, humanities and science.