Yi So-yeon
Encyclopedia
Yi So-yeon is a South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...

 and Ph.D. graduate
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 of KAIST
KAIST
KAIST , is located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the nation's first research oriented science and engineering institution. The QS-The Times World University Rankings in the year of 2009 placed KAIST 69th overall and 21st in...

 (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). On April 8, 2008, she became the first Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n and the second Asian woman (defined as a female resident of a country in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 at the time of her spaceflight) to fly in space, after Chiaki Mukai
Chiaki Mukai
is a Japanese doctor, and JAXA astronaut. She was the first Japanese woman in space, and was the first Japanese citizen to have two spaceflights. Both were Space Shuttle missions; her first was STS-65 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in July 1994, which was a Spacelab mission. Her second spaceflight...

.

Biography

Yi So-yeon was born to father Yi Gil-soo and mother Jeong Geum-soon and raised in Gwangju
Gwangju
Gwangju is the sixth largest city in South Korea. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister...

, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

.

Yi studied at Gwangju Science High School
Gwangju Science High School
Gwangju Science High School is one of the science schools in South Korea, located in Gwangju. It was open in March 1984 as Jeonnam Science High School which was changed to the current name in 1990...

. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees with a focus on mechanics at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon
Daejeon
Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the...

. Her doctorate in biotech systems was conferred on 29 February 2008 in a ceremony at KAIST although she was unable to be present due to her training commitments in Russia.

Korean Astronaut Program

Yi was one of the two finalists chosen on 25 December 2006 through the Korean Astronaut Program
Korean Astronaut Program
The Korean Astronaut Program was an initiative by the South Korean government to send the first Korean into space via the Russian space program.-Program overview:...

. On 5 September 2007, the Korean
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 Ministry of Science and Technology chose Ko San
Ko San
Ko San is a South Korean researcher at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.Ko was born in Busan. His father died when he was a boy, and his mother raised Ko and his sister. A graduate of Hanyoung Foreign Language High School, Ko went on to study mathematics at Seoul National University...

, over Yi So-yeon, following performance and other tests during their training in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

On 7 March 2008, she was selected to train with the primary crew, and on 10 March the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced that Yi would replace Ko. This was after the Russian Federal Space Agency
Russian Federal Space Agency
The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...

 asked for a replacement because Ko violated regulations several times at a Russian training center by removing sensitive reading materials and mailing one back to Korea. On 8 April 2008, Yi was launched into space on board Soyuz TMA-12
Soyuz TMA-12
Soyuz TMA-12 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station which was launched by a Soyuz FG rocket at 11:16 UTC on 8 April 2008. It docked to the Pirs module of the station on 10 April 2008. Landing occurred at 03:37 on 24 October...

, with two Russian cosmonauts. South Korea is reported to have paid Russia $20 Million for Yi's space flight. She makes South Korea the third country, after the United Kingdom
Helen Sharman
Helen Patricia Sharman, OBE PhD , is a British chemist. She was the first Briton in space, visiting the Mir space station aboard Soyuz TM-12 in 1991....

 and Iran
Anousheh Ansari
Anousheh Ansari is an engineer and the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. . The Ansari family is also the title sponsor of the Ansari X Prize. On September 18, 2006,...

, to have a woman as its first space traveler.

Terminology

Flying as a guest of the Russian government through a commercial agreement with South Korea, Yi's role aboard Soyuz and the ISS is referred to as a spaceflight participant
Spaceflight participant
Spaceflight participant is the term used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Russian Federal Space Agency for people who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew...

  in Russian Federal Space Agency
Russian Federal Space Agency
The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...

 and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 documents and press briefings.

Mission

During her mission, Yi So-yeon carried out 18 science experiments for KARI
Korea Aerospace Research Institute
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute is the aeronautics and space agency of South Korea. Its main laboratories are located in Daejeon, in the Daedeok Science Town. Current projects include the KSLV launcher. Past projects include the 1999 Arirang-1 satellite. The agency was founded in 1989...

 and conducted interviews and discussions with media. In particular, she took with her 1,000 fruit flies
Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...

 in a special air-conditioned container box (Konkuk University
Konkuk University
Konkuk University is a private university located in Seoul and Chungju. The Seoul campus is located in the southeastern part of Seoul, near the Han River, and is served by a metro station of the same name. The university possesses accreditation from the South Korean Ministry of Culture and Education...

 experiment). She monitored the way the changes in gravity and other environmental conditions alter the behaviour of the flies, or their genome. Other experiments involved the growth of plants in space, the study of the behaviour of her heart, and the effects of gravity change on the pressure in her eye and shape of her face. With a specially designed three-dimensional Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

 camera, Yi took six shots of her face every day to see how it swells in the different gravity. She also observed the Earth, and in particular the movement of dust storms from China to Korea. She also measured the noise levels on board the ISS.

South Korean scientists created a special low-calorie and vitamin-rich version of kimchi
Kimchi
Kimchi , also spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings. There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green onions or cucumber. It is the most common...

 for Yi.

Return flight

At the end of the mission, Yi returned to Earth along with ISS crew members Peggy Whitson
Peggy Whitson
Peggy Annette Whitson is an American biochemistry researcher, NASA astronaut, and NASA's Chief Astronaut. Her first space mission was in 2002, with an extended stay aboard the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 5. Her second mission launched October 10, 2007, as the first female...

 and Yuri Malenchenko
Yuri Malenchenko
Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko is a Ukrainian-Russian cosmonaut. Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space, on 10 August 2003, when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was 240 miles over New Zealand, on the International Space Station...

 aboard Soyuz TMA-11, on April 19, 2008. The craft followed a ballistic re-entry, which typically subjects the crew to extreme force. The re-entry into Earth's atmosphere was a steeper than usual descent, thus subjecting the crew to severe gravitational forces at up to 10 times the amount experienced on Earth. As a result of the re-entry, the TMA-11 craft used in the return flight landed 260 miles (418.4 km) off-course from its target in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

. All three survived, although requiring observation by medical personnel.

Yi was hospitalized after her return to Korea due to severe back pains. Though many believed these pains were the result of the rough landing, they were in fact normal and expected. They were the result of spinal re-compression.

Post-flight

After her flight, Yi works as a researcher at KARI as well as acting as Korea's space ambassador, together with Ko San. She will also receive income from future TV commercials.
On 4 October 2008, Yi launched the International Institute of Space Commerce, at a ceremony held in Douglas, Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

. Based on Yi's track record so early on in her career, she has been listed as one of the 15 Asian Scientists To Watch by Asian Scientist Magazine
Asian Scientist Magazine
Asian Scientist Magazine is a science & technology magazine that was launched as an MIT alumni start-up in March 2011 by the company, Asian Scientist LLP....

 on 15 May 2011.

See also

  • Korean Astronaut Program
    Korean Astronaut Program
    The Korean Astronaut Program was an initiative by the South Korean government to send the first Korean into space via the Russian space program.-Program overview:...

  • Korea Aerospace Research Institute
    Korea Aerospace Research Institute
    The Korea Aerospace Research Institute is the aeronautics and space agency of South Korea. Its main laboratories are located in Daejeon, in the Daedeok Science Town. Current projects include the KSLV launcher. Past projects include the 1999 Arirang-1 satellite. The agency was founded in 1989...

  • Timeline of space travel by nationality
  • ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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