Vanessa O'Brien

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Vanessa O'Brien
Vanessa O'Brien in 2015
Born	(1964-12-02) 2 December 1964 (age 59) Grosse Pointe, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	British and American (Dual-citizenship)
Alma mater	New York University Stern School of Business
Occupation(s)	Mountaineer, Sub-orbital spaceflight participant, Explorer, Aquanaut and Author
Known for	First woman to reach extremes on land (Mount Everest), sea (Challenger Deep), and air (passing the Karman line) First person to reach farthest and nearest to Earth’s core – Chimborazo and Challenger Deep First woman to traverse Challenger Deep, spending three hours at the bottom of the eastern pool First American woman to summit K2 First British woman to summit K2 and return safely Fastest woman to summit the seven summits and ski the last degree to the North Pole and South Pole – Explorers Grand Slam
Notable work	To The Greatest Heights Simon & Schuster ISBN 1982123788 Quercus ISBN 1529403111
Spouse	Jonathan O'Brien
Awards	FAA Human Spaceflight Recognition (2022)[1] New York State Citation of Honor (2021) 6 Guinness World Record in 2022 (1), 2020 (3), 2017 (1), 2013 (1) Fearless Girl Award (2019) SES Explorer of The Year (2018)
Website	www.vobonline.com
Space career
Blue Origin Sub-orbital spaceflight Participant
Flight time	10 minutes, 20 seconds
Missions	Blue Origin NS-22
Mission insignia

Vanessa Audi Rhys O'Brien (born 2 December 1964) is a British and American mountaineer, sub-orbital spaceflight participant, explorer, author and former business executive.^[2] On 4 August 2022, O'Brien became the first woman to complete the Explorers' Extreme Trifecta – reaching extremes on land, sea, and air after she passed the Kármán line as part of Blue Origin NS-22 spaceflight.^[3] On 12 June 2020, O'Brien became the first woman to reach Earth's highest and lowest points, receiving a Guinness World Record.^[4] She became the first American woman to climb K2 and the first British^[5][6][7] woman to climb K2 and return safely (as a result of her dual nationality) on 28 July 2017, successfully leading a team of 12 members to the summit and back on her third attempt.^[8][9][10] She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and an Honorary Advisory Member of The Scientific Exploration Society (SES).^[11]

O'Brien received a Fearless Girl Award in 2019 and was awarded Explorer of The Year in 2018 by SES.^[12] She set a Guinness World Record for climbing the highest peak on every continent in 295 days, the fastest time by a woman.^[13] O'Brien has also skied the last 60 nautical miles or 111 km to the South Pole and North Pole completing the Explorers Grand Slam in 11 months,^[14][15] becoming the first woman to do so in under a calendar year and the 8th woman in the world to accomplish this.^[16]