Shannon Lucid is an American astronaut and biochemist, born on January 14, 1943, in Shanghai, China. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado. Lucid joined NASA in 1979 and became the first American woman to live and work on the Russian space station Mir. During her career, Lucid completed five spaceflights, spending a total of 223 days in space, which was a record for a woman at the time. She received numerous awards, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the NASA Space Flight Medal, recognizing her contributions to space exploration.