Amidst the boundless cosmos, humanity's quest never ceases, and women's presence shines brightly in the cosmic arena.
On this International Women's Day (IWD), Beijing Interstellor Manned Spaceflight Technology Co., Ltd. (Interstellor) welcomes its first female passenger—Lin Xiaoyan, a Chinese-American poet poised to become the first overseas Chinese female astronaut.
Famous lyricist Fang Wenshan has praised her poetry as 'free-spirited and romantic,' while entrepreneur Feng Lun has recommended it to 'dreamers.'
Now, by signing with Interstellor, she will traverse the boundary between Earth and the stars with poetic steps, knock on the cosmic door with a romantic posture, and amplify the narrative of 90s-born Eastern women's exploratory 'her power.'
She graduated from Columbia University and became the youngest member of the North American Chinese Writers Association.
Her perennial shuttling between Israel and New York exposed her to war-torn Israel, Quranic recitations among Muslims, explorations of Berlin's WWII tunnels, and even witnessed Hamas's most severe rocket attacks in Palestine in nearly 20 years.
These extraordinary experiences became an inexhaustible wellspring for her poetic creations, delving into profound themes of love and romance, existence and death, and modern anxiety.
She has published Chinese poetry collections Invisible Tel Aviv and My Verses Cannot Awaken the Deeper Sleeper, as well as the English-language Café After Dawn. Her style blends classical taste with avant-garde modernism.
Renowned American sinologist and poetry critic Ye Ximi praised her work as 'pure poetry,' while poet and translator Gu Ailing noted its 'classical beauty.' American poet Joseph Fasano described her poetry as 'wandering between speech and silence, poetry and prose, the trivial and the sacred.'
Now, she embarks on an unprecedented journey, fueled by poetic romance and boundless curiosity, soaring into the cosmos to infuse her art with even more brilliant inspiration, writing a new interstellar chapter for humanity's female explorers.
"I once wrote about the Milky Way in the subway; now, I finally get to write poetry amidst it," she declares.
Lin Xiaoyan plans to bring ink brushes and rice paper aboard, creating ink wash works in microgravity: "I aim to prove that technology and humanity are not antagonistic—women can master rocket equations and pen sonnets."
This vision aligns with Interstellor's 'humanistic aerospace' ethos, which includes co-launching the 'Galactic Poetry Society' with her.
The spacecraft will feature a panoramic poetry projection system, allowing passengers to cast their writings against the cosmic backdrop, with every female traveler receiving a love poem from space.
"What I purchased is not a ticket, but a manifesto against gravity; when the atmosphere tears open at 100km, all women defined by tradition will achieve escape velocity," she asserts.
"Before the cosmos dimmed,
I gazed at you once—
as a serpent casts its final glance upon the primordial chaos."
— Lin Xiaoyan, Chronicles of Nebula
"The sun melts into my forehead,
the moon sinks into my brow;
magma solidifies into amber eyes,
mountains and rivers morph into organs within.
I am Earth's son—
her Yuzi."
— Lin Xiaoyan, AI: Her Yuzi
"To date, approximately 642 individuals have journeyed into space, with male astronauts constituting 83%-88% of this cohort, leaving women at 12%-17%. Historically, the stereotype that men are more inclined toward exploration and innovation, and better suited for high-tech professions, has prioritized their selection in space missions. However, research reveals that women possess distinct advantages in long-duration space endeavors: they consume 15%-30% less food, water, and oxygen than men, making them ideal for extended missions; their enhanced radiation tolerance and estrogen metabolism adaptation to microgravity environments further underscore their physiological resilience; additionally, their smaller stature improves spatial efficiency within cramped spacecraft.
Beyond physical attributes, women bring unique humanities and artistic strengths to space exploration: their emotional sensitivity fosters teamwork and psychological well-being, their creative vision infuses cultural expression and spiritual solace into missions, and their literary acumen enables profound documentation of cosmic experiences, deepening humanity’s philosophical contemplation of the cosmos.
With the rise of commercial space tourism, non-professional astronauts are increasingly entering the arena, potentially dismantling the male-dominated paradigm. Recent milestones include Blue Origin’s inaugural all-female crew launch, featuring Jeff Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sanchez and pop icon Katy Perry, symbolizing progress for gender equity. Meanwhile, China’s first female commercial space traveler has signed with Interstellor, resonating with the global movement toward interstellar gender parity."
"Throughout history, women have consistently been vital forces in exploring the unknown—whether as scientists in scientific research, astronauts in space exploration, or pioneers in various industries. From Valentina Tereshkova’s historic first flight in 1963 to Wang Yaping’s groundbreaking space lectures in China, women’s roles in aerospace history are marked by groundbreaking achievements. In the era of commercial manned spaceflight, pioneers like Lin Xiaoyan embody a civilian spirit: they pursue stellar dreams not through national missions, but as individual adventurers.
As Lei Shiqing, founder and CEO of Interstellor, stated: 'We seek passengers who represent the spirit of new-era Chinese women—those who dare to gaze at the stars while embracing down-to-earth romanticism.' Lin Xiaoyan’s collaboration not only exemplifies personal courage but also paves new possibilities for Chinese women in space.
Suborbital space tourism is merely a starting point. Over the next decade, commercial space stations, intercontinental travel, and lunar missions will transition from dreams to reality. Women will undoubtedly play a central role in this transformative journey."
Interstellor invites all women who dare to dream of the cosmos to explore space together: There’s always a spacecraft waiting for you, with a seat reserved under the stars!