Janice Voss: NASA astronaut passes away at 55

Former Astronaut Janice E. Voss, one of the few women launched into space, has died of breast cancer in Arizona, her alma mater said on Tuesday. She passed away Monday (Feb. 6) in Scottsdale, Arizona where she was receiving treatment, according to a Purdue University press release.

This lady was an accomplished space jockey, logging five flights with NASA and a total of 49 days in orbit, traveling 18.8 million miles during 779 trips around the third rock from the sun. Voss joined NASA as a teenager while attending Purdue in 1973 and became an astronaut in 1991, and hitting the great beyond two years later.

According to NASA, Voss continued to work for them on payload issues after her final mission, and spent time encouraging students to study science and math. She was one of only six women to fly to space five times.