Amanda Nguyen opens up on depression after historic Blue Origin mission

Civil rights activist and scientist Amanda Nguyen is breaking her silence about the toll her April Blue Origin spaceflight took on her mental health.

Nguyen, who made history as the first Vietnamese woman astronaut, revealed that she fell into a deep depression amid the backlash that followed the mission.

The mission also included Katy Perry, Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, and Kerianne Flynn.

Nguyen took to Instagram to share her turmoil.

“When Gayle called to check in on me in the aftermath of the spaceflight, I told her my depression might last for years,” Nguyen wrote in a statement shared December 28.

“Another dream turned into a nightmare.”

She explained that years of preparation, her women’s health research, and the promise she had made to her “survivor self” were overshadowed by what she described as an “avalanche of misogyny.”

“I felt like collateral damage,” Nguyen admitted.

She recalled how she was unable to leave her bed for days.

She even hung up on a senior Blue Origin staffer because she couldn’t speak through her tears.

Despite the pain, Nguyen emphasized the positive impact of the mission, which brought attention to her breast cancer research and advanced her goal of using science as a tool for diplomacy.

“There has been overwhelming good that has come out of this,” she wrote, noting that she is beginning to feel better eight months later.

Nguyen also reflected on the symbolism of her journey.

“When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, bombs rained down on Vietnam. This year, when my boat refugee family looked at the sky, instead of bombs they saw the first Vietnamese woman in space.”