First U.S. woman to walk in space attains new height, becomes first woman to reach the deepest known point on Earth.
Dr. Kathy Sullivan on Monday became the first woman to reach Challenger Deep, the deepest known point on Earth, in the South Pacific. Sullivan, the first U.S. woman to walk in space, a veteran of three shuttle missions and an enshrined member of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, took a perilous journey downward this week. Completing the expedition in their submersible, Sullivan and her her fellow Victor Vescovo coordinated a call with the International Space Station. In a statement released by supporters of the expedition, EYOS Expedition, she said, "As a hybrid oceanographer and astronaut this was an extraordinary day, a once in a lifetime day, seeing the moonscape of the Challenger Deep and then comparing notes with my colleagues on the ISS about our remarkable reusable inner-space outer-spacecraft."