Month: October 2019

Observed each October, the National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and educates about the value of a workforce inclusive of their skills and talents.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month was declared in 1988 by the United States Congress for October to raise awareness the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities.

The 2019 NDEAM theme is “The Right Talent, Right Now.” NDEAM is led by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, but its true spirit lies in the many observances held at the grassroots level across the nation every year.

This year, Johnson Space Center sponsored NASA Engineer Tracy Minish as their keynote speaker: “A Vision for Space,” while Stennis Space Center hosted an NDEAM event celebrating the contributions of workers with disabilities, including keynote speaker Dwight Owens (pictured below). Mr. Owens is a disability advocate and has spoken to many different types of organizations to tell his story.

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch made history by completing the first all-female spacewalk at the International Space Station. This achievement highlights NASA’s continuing efforts toward inclusiveness and the vast contributions of women to the Agency’s mission.

NASA has also unveiled the next-generation spacesuit prototype that will be worn by the first woman on the Moon. The planned spacesuit will have modular components and a sizing adjustment mechanism, to better mix-and-match a full suit configuration for NASA’s increasingly diverse astronauts. This design flexibility aligns with NASA’s Artemis mission to put the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024.

All-Female Spacewalk:
NASA Astronauts Wrap Up Historic All-Woman Spacewalk
NASA All-Woman Spacewalk

Artemis Generation Spacesuits:
A New Spacesuit for Artemis Generation Astronauts
A Next-Generation Spacesuit for the Artemis Generation of Astronauts
Artemis Generation Spacesuits