In January 1978, NASA opened its doors to the very first female astronaut candidates, allowing six women to enroll in a training program that would last until August 1979. Anna Lee Fisher was one of them.

An expert in chemistry and medicine, Fisher had already received degrees in both fields, by the time she got accepted at NASA. Following the year of training, she got equipped for being a mission specialist among the crews in the space shuttle.

Her first assignment revolved around the development and testing of numerous spacewalk procedures, contingency repairing procedures, and the testing of the shuttle’s “robotic arms” capability. Fisher became an evaluator and verified the readiness of many shuttles. She also facilitated newcomers in NASA, explaining the operation concepts while providing work assistance at the health maintenance facilities.

The mission required a deployment of two satellites while also recovering two others which had previously failed to operate. On board, she was accompanied by the spacecraft commander Frederick Hauck, pilot David Walker, and fellow mission specialists Dr. Joseph Allen and Dale Gardner. Upon the completion of the space flight, Anna Lee Fisher had logged a total of 192 hours in space, becoming the first mother who flew. Her husband, fellow astronaut, Frederick Fisher, would also fly a mission, but a year later, in 1985.

In 1988, before giving birth to her second child, Kara Lynne, Anna Lee Fisher decided to take an extended leave in order to dedicate to her family.

She returned to the Astronaut Office in 1996 and was assigned to the Operation Planning Branch to work on procedures and training matters that supported the International Space Station. She had different assignments in the following years.

Aside from the iconic status of the first mother who flew into space, Fisher is further known for a photograph that was widely shared and reused over the internet. The image is part of a series taken by photographer John Bryson and shows Fisher wearing a helmet and space suit; she is looking away from the camera, almost in profile.