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Read: The Space Race for Lunar FuneralsA Russian space agency is testing how an all-female crew would fare on a trip to the moon and back, and a high-ranking official has compared the women taking part in the test to housewives in a kitchen, the AFP reports.On Wednesday, the crew of six women locked themselves in a mock spaceship at Moscow's Institute of Biomedical Problems—a lab that tests the physical and psychological aspects of space travel—to simulate conditions that might arise during a moon mission Russia has slated for 2029."It will be particularly interesting in terms of psychology," said the institute's director, Igor Ushakov. Then, for some reason, he added: "I'd like to wish you a lack of conflicts, even though they say that in one kitchen, two housewives find it hard to live together."The mission, in part, hopes to make up for the fact that Russia's only sent four women into space in past 50 years, compared to the 49 who have done so through NASA, Quartz reports. It seems like the female cosmonauts will have to conquer some latent sexism as well as gravity. From the Quartz story:
After the announcement, Russian media bombarded the prospective astronauts with questions like how they will wash their hair, do their makeup, and survive without men. "We are doing work. When you're doing your work, you don't think about men and women," participant Anna Kussmaul reportedly countered.
