DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: This week marks the 70th birthday of the first woman in space. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova climbed aboard a Soviet spaceship, scoring Cold War publicity points for the USSR. Tereshkova was a 26-year-old engineering student and a proletarian, the daughter of a peasant. That and her experience as an amateur parachutist made her an excellent candidate to be a pawn in the international propaganda war.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: After the flight, Tereshkova became an icon and role model for young Soviet women. She was chosen for important political positions. She even got a crater named after her on the dark side of the moon.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: But this Tuesday, at a birthday party thrown by President Vladimir Putin, Tereshkova said there's one more thing she dreams of doing. I would enjoy flying to Mars, she told a reporter. I'm ready to fly, without coming back.
The world's first woman astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova, will be turning 70 next week. She says she still dreams of traveling to Mars, even if it's a one-way trip.