First Vietnamese American woman in space to speak to Ho Chi Minh City graduates

The university announced her participation on Saturday, highlighting Nguyen's groundbreaking achievements as both an astronaut and a social justice advocate.

Nguyen reposted the news on Instagram with the caption: "See you soon, Vietnam!"

Fulbright Vietnam noted: "Her story, drawing strength from her Vietnamese heritage while achieving global milestones, aligns seamlessly with Fulbright's mission and this year's commencement theme: 'Roots & Wings'."

This marks Nguyen's first trip to Vietnam, after becoming the first woman of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian descent to enter space on April 14. She flew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket-capsule system, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

The mission launched from West Texas, with an all-female crew that included former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, singer Katy Perry, CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and media executive Lauren Sánchez, Bezos's fiancée.

The crew reached the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth, experienced weightlessness, and safely returned after 11 minutes, according to a Blue Origin livestream.

Amanda Nguyen, the first Vietnamese-American woman to travel to space. Photo courtesy of Fulbright Vietnam University

Vietnamese ambassador to the U.S., Nguyen Quoc Dung, attended the launch and presented Nguyen with a letter of congratulations from Vietnamese President Luong Cuong. In the letter, the president praised her historic flight as a testament to the talent and intellect of the Vietnamese people and lauded her collaboration with the Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), which he said contributes to advancing U.S.–Vietnam cooperation in space science.

During the mission, Nguyen carried 169 lotus seeds, a cultural symbol of Vietnam, provided by VNSC and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. The seeds are expected to be used in post-flight research to examine how space travel affects plant growth.

While floating in microgravity, Nguyen also conducted scientific experiments, including tests on wound-dressing materials in zero-gravity, and delivered a message in Vietnamese:

"Hello Vietnam! I am flying for Vietnamese young girls to see themselves in the stars. While I may be the first, I won't be the last," she said in a video posted to TikTok on April 17.

Nguyen also revealed that she had spent weeks practicing Vietnamese phrases in preparation, aiming to inspire young girls in her ancestral homeland.

 

 

First Vietnamese American woman in space to speak to Ho Chi Minh City graduates

Chia sẻ về thông điệp xin chào Việt Nam từ không gian

Nguyen, born in the U.S. in 1991, is a Harvard University graduate. She interned at NASA in 2013, worked at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and later served as deputy White House liaison at the U.S. State Department.

In 2014, she founded Rise, a nonprofit advocating for the civil rights of sexual assault survivors, inspired by her own experiences. For her activism, Nguyen was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

Her spaceflight was sponsored by Space for Humanity, a nonprofit that supports citizen astronauts who champion global causes. Nguyen's mission recognized her advocacy for survivors and her efforts to promote STEM education.