The science fiction novel that opens the Lady Astronaut trilogy. Winner of the Nebula, Sidewise, Hugo, Locus, and 2021 Julie Verlanger Awards. Hugo finalist for Best Book Series .Included in the Locus bestseller list, Book of the Year according to Publishers Weekly, winner of the RUSA Reading List for Science Fiction of the American Library Association. On a cold spring night in 1952, as a result of the fall of a huge meteorite, most of the East Coast of the United States, including Washington, was destroyed. The ensuing climate crisis and ecological catastrophe in the near future will make the planet uninhabitable, as once happened in the age of dinosaurs. The looming threat requires a radical acceleration of the space program in hopes of migration and colonization of space. Elma York's experience as an aviator and mathematician with the Women's Air Force Pilot Service allows her to take part in the project to land a man on the moon as a computer scientist. But Elma does not immediately understand why a large number of experienced and qualified female pilots participating in the program cannot fly into space. Elma's desire to become the first lady astronaut is so strong that internal demons, psychological traumas of the past and even the most established stereotypes of society do not stand a chance against her.