Does Mars need women? Russians say no

Does Mars need women? Russians say no

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6955149/



COMMENTARY

By James Oberg, NBC News space analyst

Special to MSNBC

Updated: 8:52 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2005

Are women up to the job of exploring Mars?

This week, the director of Russia's top space medical institute told
students that only men should be allowed on the first mission to the Red
Planet, because women are too weak to endure the flight's rigors. His
comments once again exposed the internal contradictions of a country that
put the first woman into space while having the reputation of being the last
European bastion of male chauvinism.

After addressing students at Moscow International University, Professor
Anatoly Grigoryev elaborated in comments reported by Russia's RIA Novosti
news agency: "After all, women are fragile and delicate creatures; that is
why men should lead the way to distant planets and carry women there n their
strong hands."