Mary Wallace Funk, a distinguished aviator and the oldest female to achieve spaceflight, has deceased at age 87 in Texas.

著名飛行員及最高齡太空飛行女性 Mary Wallace Funk 在德克薩斯州逝世，享壽 87 歲。

The death of Mary Wallace Funk was formally announced by the municipality of Grapevine, Texas, noting her passing at her residence on Wednesday evening; the specific etiology of death remains undisclosed. Funk's professional trajectory was characterized by the systematic dismantling of gender-based restrictions within aeronautical institutions. Her credentials included the status of the inaugural female flight instructor at Fort Sill, as well as the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. These achievements were predicated upon a foundation of over 19,000 flight hours and the instruction of approximately 3,000 pilots.

德克薩斯州 Grapevine 市正式宣布 Mary Wallace Funk 逝世，指出她於週三晚間在寓所離世；具體死因尚未公布。Funk 的職業生涯以系統性地打破航空機構中基於性別的限制而著稱。她的資歷包括成為 Fort Sill 首位女性飛行教練，以及聯邦航空管理局（FAA）首位女性檢查員，以及國家運輸安全委員會（NTSB）首位女性航空安全調查員。這些成就建立在超過 19,000 個飛行小時以及指導約 3,000 名飛行員的基礎之上。

Historically, Funk's integration into the spaceflight domain was delayed by institutional gender exclusions. In 1961, she was among thirteen women—the 'Mercury 13'—who successfully completed the rigorous physiological and psychological evaluations required for NASA's Mercury program. Despite superior performance metrics relative to several male candidates, the cohort was denied entry into the astronaut corps. This exclusion occurred amidst a geopolitical context where the Soviet Union had already integrated women into its program, as evidenced by Valentina Tereshkova's 1963 flight, while the United States did not launch a female astronaut until Sally Ride in 1983.

從歷史上看，Funk 進入太空飛行領域的進程因機構對性別的排除而推遲。1961 年，她是 13 位女性（即「水星 13 人組」）之一，成功通過了 NASA 水星計畫要求的嚴格生理與心理評估。儘管其表現指標優於多位男性候選人，但該群體仍被拒絕進入太空人隊伍。這種排除發生在特定的地緣政治背景下——當時蘇聯已將女性納入計畫，如 Valentina Tereshkova 在 1963 年的飛行；而美國直到 1983 年才派遣 Sally Ride 成為首位女性太空人。

Funk's eventual transition to space occurred in July 2021 via the Blue Origin New Shepard vehicle. At age 82, she attained the status of the oldest person to reach space, surpassing the previous record held by John Glenn. While this record was subsequently eclipsed by William Shatner and Ed Dwight, Funk retains the designation of the oldest woman to have undergone suborbital flight. As the final surviving member of the Mercury 13, she was the sole representative of that group to achieve spaceflight.

Funk 最終於 2021 年 7 月透過 Blue Origin 的 New Shepard 航太器前往太空。她在 82 歲時成為到達太空的最高齡人士，超越了先前由 John Glenn 持有的紀錄。雖然此紀錄隨後被 William Shatner 與 Ed Dwight 打破，但 Funk 仍保有進行過亞軌道飛行的最高齡女性稱號。作為「水星 13 人組」最後一名倖存者，她是該群體中唯一實現太空飛行的代表。

Mary Wallace Funk has died, leaving a legacy as a pioneer in aviation and the oldest woman to reach space.

Mary Wallace Funk 逝世，留下了她作為航空先驅及最高齡太空飛行女性的傳承。