The Ninety-Nines Museum Of Women Pilots

The Mercury 13 was thirteen American women who, as part of a privately funded program, underwent some of the same physiological screening tests as the astronauts who were tested on April 9, 1959 for Project Mercury. The name Mercury 13 was made in 1995 by producer James Cross as a comparison to the Mercury Seven name given to the selected male astronauts. The Mercury 13 was not part of NASA's astronaut program and was never allowed to fly. The women fought to be trained alongside the men, but were stopped for good by then Vice President Lyndon Johnson.