Patricia S. Cowings

By admin , 16 March 2026
Patricia
S.
Cowings
Female
Description

The first American woman to be trained as a scientist astronaut by NASA, Cowings was an aerospace psychophysiologist whose work focused on the physiology of astronauts in outer space. She served as an alternate for a spaceflight in 1979 but did not travel to space.

Cowings is credited with creating and patenting the autogenic-feedback training exercise (AFTE), a method developed to treat motion sickness in astronauts. Her research into the physiological challenges of spaceflight contributed to efforts to find effective cures for this condition.

First NASA Scientist Astronaut
Date of Birth
1948
Patricia S. Cowings
she/her

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