NASA astronaut Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper (S.B. 1985), the first alumna to fly in space, took this photo during her September mission aboard the Atlantis space shuttle. Her assignment: installing solar power structures on the outside of the International Space Station. A Navy captain, Stefanyshyn-Piper rowed for MIT varsity crew while in ROTC. This year, 17 MIT midshipmen belong to a Navy ROTC unit with members from several local universitiies. -- Domenico Pellegrini Photo / Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper (S.B. 1985)

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on November 1, 2006 (download PDF).