Who was the first female to go to space?

Liu was selected for the crew of Shenzhou 9, the first manned mission to the Chinese space station Tiangong 1, along with Jing Haipeng, the first repeat Chinese space traveller, and Liu Wang. Liu became the first female Chinese astronaut to go into space. The mission was launched on June 16, 2012, 49 years to the day after the first female space traveller, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was launched. During this manned space mission, Liu performed experiments in space medicine.

Liu Yang (astronaut)

Liu Yang (born October 6, 1978) is a Chinese pilot and astronaut who served as a crew member on the space mission Shenzhou 9. On June 16, 2012, Liu became the first Chinese woman in space.

Liu was born in Zhengzhou, Henan in 1978, into a worker's family of Linzhou, Anyang origin. She graduated from PLA Air Force Aviation University in Changchun.

Liu joined the PLA Air Force in 1997 and qualified as a pilot before becoming the deputy head of a flight unit, holding the PLAAF rank of major. She is a veteran pilot with 1,680 hours of flying experience. After two years of astronaut training, Liu excelled in testing before being selected with another woman, Wang Yaping, as a candidate for the astronaut corps.

Liu is a member of the Communist Party of China. She is married and has no siblings. In February 2015, it was confirmed that she had given birth, but no further information was given about her child. The news agency Xinhua reported a former spaceflight official as claiming that marriage was a requirement for all female Chinese astronauts due to concerns that spaceflight could potentially harm women's fertility and also "married women would be more physically and psychologically mature." However, this requirement has been officially denied by the director of the China Astronaut Centre, stating that this is a preference but not a strict limitation.

Liu has been described as an eloquent speaker, an avid reader and also a lover of cooking.

The first civilian in space was Valentina Tereshkova aboard Vostok 6 (she also became the first woman in space on that mission).
Tereshkova was only honorarily inducted into the USSR's Air Force, which did not accept female pilots at that time. A month later, Joseph Albert Walker became the first American civilian in space when his X-15 Flight 90 crossed the line, qualifying him by the international definition of spaceflight. Walker had joined the US Army Air Force but was not a member during his flight.
The first people in space who had never been a member of any country's armed forces were both Konstantin Feoktistov and Boris Yegorov aboard Voskhod 1.

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. Although generally reserved for professional space travelers, the terms are sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists.

Until 2002, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military or by civilian space agencies. With the suborbital flight of the privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut.

The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed an altitude of. In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of are awarded astronaut wings.

, a total of 552 people from 36 countries have reached or more in altitude, of which 549 reached low Earth orbit or beyond.
Of these, 24 people have traveled beyond low Earth orbit, either to lunar orbit, the lunar surface, or, in one case, a loop around the Moon. Three of the 24–Jim Lovell, John Young and Eugene Cernan–did so twice. The three current astronauts who have flown without reaching low Earth orbit are spaceplane pilots Joe Walker, Mike Melvill, and Brian Binnie, who participated in suborbital missions.

, under the U.S. definition, 558 people qualify as having reached space, above altitude. Of eight X-15 pilots who exceeded in altitude, only one exceeded 100 kilometers (about 62 miles). Space travelers have spent over 41,790 man-days (114.5 man-years) in space, including over 100 astronaut-days of spacewalks., the man with the longest cumulative time in space is Gennady Padalka, who has spent 879 days in space. Peggy A. Whitson holds the record for the most time in space by a woman, 377 days.

In 1959, when both the United States and Soviet Union were planning, but had yet to launch humans into space, NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan and his Deputy Administrator, Dr. Hugh Dryden, discussed whether spacecraft crew members should be called "astronauts" or "cosmonauts". Dryden preferred "cosmonaut", on the grounds that flights would occur in the "cosmos" (near space), while the "astro" prefix suggested flight to the stars. Most NASA Space Task Group members preferred "astronaut", which survived by common usage as the preferred American term. When the Soviet Union launched the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin in 1961, they chose a term which anglicizes to "cosmonaut".

In English-speaking nations, a professional space traveler is called an "astronaut". The term derives from the Greek words "ástron" (ἄστρον), meaning "star", and "nautes" (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his 1930 short story "The Death's Head Meteor". The word itself had been known earlier; for example, in Percy Greg's 1880 book "Across the Zodiac", "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. In "Les Navigateurs de l'Infini" (1925) by J.-H. Rosny aîné, the word "astronautique" (astronautic) was used. The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler first applied in 1784 to balloonists. An early use of "astronaut" in a non-fiction publication is Eric Frank Russell's poem "The Astronaut", appearing in the November 1934 "Bulletin of the British Interplanetary Society".

The first known formal use of the term astronautics in the scientific community was the establishment of the annual International Astronautical Congress in 1950, and the subsequent founding of the International Astronautical Federation the following year.

NASA applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to join its Astronaut Corps. The European Space Agency similarly uses the term astronaut for members of its Astronaut Corps.

By convention, an astronaut employed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (or its Soviet predecessor) is called a "cosmonaut" in English texts. The word is an anglicisation of the Russian word "kosmonavt" (, ), one who works in space outside the Earth's atmosphere, a space traveler, which derives from the Greek words "kosmos" (κόσμος), meaning "universe", and "nautes" (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". Other countries of the former Eastern Bloc use variations of the Russian word "kosmonavt", such as the Polish "kosmonauta".

Coinage of the term "kosmonavt" has been credited to Soviet aeronautics pioneer Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900–1974). The first cosmonaut was Soviet Air Force pilot Yuri Gagarin, also the first person in space. Valentina Tereshkova, a Russian factory worker, was the first woman in space, as well as the first civilian among the Soviet cosmonaut or NASA astronaut corps to make a spaceflight. On March 14, 1995, Norman Thagard became the first American to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle, and thus became the first "American cosmonaut".

"Yǔ háng yuán" (, "Space-universe navigating personnel") is used for astronauts and cosmonauts in general, while "Hángtiān yuán" (, "navigating outer space personnel") is used for Chinese astronauts. Here, "Hángtiān" () is strictly defined as the navigation of outer space within the local star system, i.e. Solar system. The phrase "tài kōng rén" (, "spaceman") is often used in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The term "taikonaut" is used by some English-language news media organizations for professional space travelers from China. The word has featured in the Longman and Oxford English dictionaries, the latter of which describes it as "a hybrid of the Chinese term "taikong" (space) and the Greek "naut" (sailor)"; the term became more common in 2003 when China sent its first astronaut Yang Liwei into space aboard the "Shenzhou 5" spacecraft. This is the term used by Xinhua News Agency in the English version of the Chinese "People's Daily" since the advent of the Chinese space program. The origin of the term is unclear; as early as May 1998, Chiew Lee Yih () from Malaysia, used it in newsgroups.

With the rise of space tourism, NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to use the term "spaceflight participant" to distinguish those space travelers from professional astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies.

While no nation other than the Russian Federation (and previously the former Soviet Union), the United States, and China have launched a manned spacecraft, several other nations have sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries. Inspired partly by these missions, other synonyms for astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example, the term "spationaut" (French spelling: "spationaute") is sometimes used to describe French space travelers, from the Latin word "spatium" for "space", the Malay term "angkasawan" was used to describe participants in the Angkasawan program, and the Indian Space Research Organisation hope to launch a spacecraft in 2022 that would carry "vyomanauts", coined from the Sanskrit word for space. In Finland, the NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra, a Finnish American, has sometimes been referred to as "sisunautti", from the Finnish word "sisu".

The first human in space was Soviet Yuri Gagarin, who was launched on April 12, 1961, aboard Vostok 1 and orbited around the Earth for 108 minutes. The first woman in space was Soviet Valentina Tereshkova, who launched on June 16, 1963, aboard Vostok 6 and orbited Earth for almost three days.

Alan Shepard became the first American and second person in space on May 5, 1961, on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight. The first American to orbit the Earth was John Glenn, aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962. The first American woman in space was Sally Ride, during Space Shuttle Challenger's mission STS-7, on June 18, 1983. In 1992 Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space aboard STS-47.

Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first person to conduct an extravehicular activity (EVA), (commonly called a "spacewalk"), on March 18, 1965, on the Soviet Union's Voskhod 2 mission. This was followed two and a half months later by astronaut Ed White who made the first American EVA on NASA's Gemini 4 mission.

The first manned mission to orbit the Moon, "Apollo 8", included American William Anders who was born in Hong Kong, making him the first Asian-born astronaut in 1968.

The Soviet Union, through its Intercosmos program, allowed people from other "socialist" (i.e. Warsaw Pact and other Soviet-allied) countries to fly on its missions, with the notable exception of France participating in Soyuz TM-7. An example is Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek, the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States, who flew to space in 1978 on a Soyuz-U rocket. Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to travel to space. He was launched aboard Soyuz T-11, on 2 April 1984.

On July 23, 1980, Pham Tuan of Vietnam became the first Asian in space when he flew aboard Soyuz 37. Also in 1980, Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez became the first person of Hispanic and black African descent to fly in space, and in 1983, Guion Bluford became the first African American to fly into space. In April 1985, Taylor Wang became the first ethnic Chinese person in space. The first person born in Africa to fly in space was Patrick Baudry (France), in 1985. In 1985, Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud became the first Arab Muslim astronaut in space. In 1988, Abdul Ahad Mohmand became the first Afghan to reach space, spending nine days aboard the Mir space station.

With the increase of seats on the Space Shuttle, the U.S. began taking international astronauts. In 1983, Ulf Merbold of West Germany became the first non-US citizen to fly in a US spacecraft. In 1984, Marc Garneau became the first of 8 Canadian astronauts to fly in space (through 2010).
In 1985, Rodolfo Neri Vela became the first Mexican-born person in space. In 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Briton to fly in space.
In 2002, Mark Shuttleworth became the first citizen of an African country to fly in space, as a paying spaceflight participant. In 2003, Ilan Ramon became the first Israeli to fly in space, although he died during a re-entry accident.

On October 15, 2003, Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut on the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.

The youngest person to fly in space is Gherman Titov, who was 25 years old when he flew Vostok 2. (Titov was also the first person to suffer space sickness).
The oldest person who has flown in space is John Glenn, who was 77 when he flew on STS-95.

438 days is the longest time spent in space, by Russian Valeri Polyakov.
As of 2006, the most spaceflights by an individual astronaut is seven, a record held by both Jerry L. Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz. The farthest distance from Earth an astronaut has traveled was, when Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise went around the Moon during the Apollo 13 emergency.

The first non-governmental space traveler was Byron K. Lichtenberg, a researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who flew on STS-9 in 1983. In December 1990, Toyohiro Akiyama became the first paying space traveler as a reporter for Tokyo Broadcasting System, a visit to Mir as part of an estimated $12 million (USD) deal with a Japanese TV station, although at the time, the term used to refer to Akiyama was "Research Cosmonaut". Akiyama suffered severe space sickness during his mission, which affected his productivity.

The first self-funded space tourist was Dennis Tito on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-3 on April 28, 2001.

The first person to fly on an entirely privately funded mission was Mike Melvill, piloting SpaceShipOne flight 15P on a suborbital journey, although he was a test pilot employed by Scaled Composites and not an actual paying space tourist. Seven others have paid the Russian Space Agency to fly into space:The first NASA astronauts were selected for training in 1959. Early in the space program, military jet test piloting and engineering training were often cited as prerequisites for selection as an astronaut at NASA, although neither John Glenn nor Scott Carpenter (of the Mercury Seven) had any university degree, in engineering or any other discipline at the time of their selection. Selection was initially limited to military pilots. The earliest astronauts for both America and the USSR tended to be jet fighter pilots, and were often test pilots.

Once selected, NASA astronauts go through twenty months of training in a variety of areas, including training for extravehicular activity in a facility such as NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Astronauts-in-training (astronaut candidates) may also experience short periods of weightlessness (microgravity) in an aircraft called the "Vomit Comet," the nickname given to a pair of modified KC-135s (retired in 2000 and 2004, respectively, and replaced in 2005 with a C-9) which perform parabolic flights. Astronauts are also required to accumulate a number of flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft. This is mostly done in T-38 jet aircraft out of Ellington Field, due to its proximity to the Johnson Space Center. Ellington Field is also where the Shuttle Training Aircraft is maintained and developed, although most flights of the aircraft are conducted from Edwards Air Force Base.

Astronauts is training must learn how to control and fly the Space Shuttle and, it is vital that they are familiar with the International Space Station so they know what they must do when they get there.

Mission Specialist Educators, or "Educator Astronauts", were first selected in 2004, and as of 2007, there are three NASA Educator astronauts: Joseph M. Acaba, Richard R. Arnold, and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger.
Barbara Morgan, selected as back-up teacher to Christa McAuliffe in 1985, is considered to be the first Educator astronaut by the media, but she trained as a mission specialist.
The Educator Astronaut program is a successor to the Teacher in Space program from the 1980s.

Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including decompression sickness, barotrauma, immunodeficiencies, loss of bone and muscle, loss of eyesight, orthostatic intolerance, sleep disturbances, and radiation injury. A variety of large scale medical studies are being conducted in space via the National Space and Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) to address these issues. Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Study in which astronauts (including former ISS commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka) perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts to diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical conditions in space. This study's techniques are now being applied to cover professional and Olympic sports injuries as well as ultrasound performed by non-expert operators in medical and high school students. It is anticipated that remote guided ultrasound will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations, where access to a trained physician is often rare.

A 2006 Space Shuttle experiment found that "Salmonella typhimurium", a bacterium that can cause food poisoning, became more virulent when cultivated in space. More recently, in 2017, bacteria were found to be more resistant to antibiotics and to thrive in the near-weightlessness of space. Microorganisms have been observed to survive the vacuum of outer space.

On December 31, 2012, a NASA-supported study reported that manned spaceflight may harm the brain and accelerate the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

In October 2015, the NASA Office of Inspector General issued a health hazards report related to space exploration, including a human mission to Mars.

Over the last decade, flight surgeons and scientists at NASA have seen a pattern of vision problems in astronauts on long-duration space missions. The syndrome, known as visual impairment intracranial pressure (VIIP), has been reported in nearly two-thirds of space explorers after long periods spent aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

On November 2, 2017, scientists reported that significant changes in the position and structure of the brain have been found in astronauts who have taken trips in space, based on MRI studies. Astronauts who took longer space trips were associated with greater brain changes.

Being in space can be physiologically deconditioning on the body. It can affect the otolith organs and adaptive capabilities of the central nervous system. Zero gravity and cosmic rays can cause many implications for astronauts.

In October 2018, NASA-funded researchers found that lengthy journeys into outer space, including travel to the planet Mars, may substantially damage the gastrointestinal tissues of astronauts. The studies support earlier work that found such journeys could significantly damage the brains of astronauts, and age them prematurely.

Researchers in 2018 reported, after detecting the presence on the International Space Station (ISS) of five "Enterobacter bugandensis" bacterial strains, none pathogenic to humans, that microorganisms on ISS should be carefully monitored to continue assuring a medically healthy environment for astronauts.

An astronaut on the International Space Station requires about 0.83 kilograms (1.83 pounds) weight of food inclusive of food packaging per meal each day. (The packaging for each meal weighs around 0.12 kilograms - 0.27 pounds) Longer-duration missions require more food.

Shuttle astronauts worked with nutritionists to select menus that appeal to their individual tastes. Five months before flight, menus are selected and analyzed for nutritional content by the shuttle dietician. Foods are tested to see how they will react in a reduced gravity environment. Caloric requirements are determined using a basal energy expenditure (BEE) formula.
On Earth, the average American uses about 35 gallons (132 liters) of water every day. On board the ISS astronauts limit water use to only about three gallons (11 liters) per day.

In Russia, cosmonauts are awarded Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation upon completion of their missions, often accompanied with the award of Hero of the Russian Federation. This follows the practice established in the USSR where cosmonauts were usually awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

At NASA, those who complete astronaut candidate training receive a silver lapel pin. Once they have flown in space, they receive a gold pin. U.S. astronauts who also have active-duty military status receive a special qualification badge, known as the Astronaut Badge, after participation on a spaceflight. The United States Air Force also presents an Astronaut Badge to its pilots who exceed in altitude.

Eighteen astronauts (fourteen men and four women) have lost their lives during four space flights. By nationality, thirteen were American (including one born in India), four were Russian (Soviet Union), and one was Israeli.

Eleven people (all men) have lost their lives training for spaceflight: eight Americans and three Russians. Six of these were in crashes of training jet aircraft, one drowned during water recovery training, and four were due to fires in pure oxygen environments.

The Space Mirror Memorial, which stands on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, commemorates the lives of the men and women who have died during spaceflight and during training in the space programs of the United States. In addition to twenty NASA career astronauts, the memorial includes the names of a U.S. Air Force X-15 test pilot, a U.S. Air Force officer who died while training for a then-classified military space program, and a civilian spaceflight participant.

Women of many nationalities have worked in space. The first woman in space, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, flew in 1963. Space flight programs were slow to employ women, and only began to include them from the 1980s. Most women in space have been United States citizens, with missions on the Space Shuttle and on the International Space Station. Three countries maintain active space programs that include women: China, Russia, and the United States of America. In addition, a number of other countries — Canada, France, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom — have sent women into orbit or space on Russian or US missions.

Women in space

Women in space face many of the same challenges faced by men: physical difficulties posed by non-Earth conditions and psychological stresses of isolation and separation. Scientific studies on female amphibians and non-human mammals generally show no adverse effect from short space missions, although the effect of extended space travel on human female reproduction is not known.

Although the first woman flew into space in 1963, very early in crewed space exploration, it would not be until almost 20 years later that another flew.

And while a number of American women underwent the astronaut selection process in the early 1960s - and passed - they were not eligible to be astronauts: All astronauts were required to be military test pilots, a career not available to women at the time.

NASA opened the space program to female applicants in 1978, in response to the new anti-discrimination laws of the time. When Sally Ride, the first US astronaut first went to space, the press asked her questions about her reproductive organs and whether she would cry if things went wrong on the job.

Women with children also face questions about how they would compare to traditional expectations of motherhood. Shannon Lucid, one of the first batch of female US astronauts, remembers questions by the press on how her children would handle her being a mother in space. Women are also often expected to be the ones mainly responsible for childrearing, which can impact their career.

The first woman in space was a Soviet cosmonaut. Valentina Tereshkova launched with the Vostok 6 mission on June 16, 1963. The first woman to walk in space was also a cosmonaut: Svetlana Savitskaya was on her second mission when she space-walked on July 17, 1984 as part of Salyut 7-EP2.

Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman to go on extravehicular activity (EVA) — after launching on Soyuz T-12 on July 25, 1984 — and the second woman overall to go into space.

Russian Yelena V. Kondakova became the first woman to travel for both the Soyuz programme and on the Space Shuttle. Yelena Serova became the first female Russian cosmonaut to visit the International Space Station on 26 September 2014.

The Russian space program has also hosted international cosmonauts. Helen Sharman from the United Kingdom (1991), Claudie Haigneré from France (1996 and 2001), Anousheh Ansari from Iran (2006), Yi So-yeon of South Korea (2008) and Samantha Cristoforetti from Italy (2014) and six Amen have entered space as part of the Soyuz programme.

The United States did not have a woman in space until 1983, when astronaut Sally Ride launched with the seventh Space Shuttle mission. Since then more than 40 American women have entered space. Most served on the various Space Shuttle flights from 1983 to 2011.

Sally Ride was the third woman overall to go into space, launching on the Space Shuttle. Ride served on the STS-7 from June 18 to 24 in 1983. Judith Resnik was the second American woman in space, after Sally Ride, and the fourth woman overall in space, as a mission specialist on the maiden voyage of "Discovery", from August to September 1984, dying less than a year and a half later when the Space Shuttle "Challenger" was destroyed. The first U.S. woman to go on an EVA was Kathryn ("Kathy") Sullivan on the STS-41-G, which launched on October 11, 1984. The first woman to be on an ISS expedition crew was Susan Helms on Expedition 2, which lasted from March 2001 until August 2001. United States NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins became the 60th woman to fly in space when she launched to the International Space Station on July 6, 2016, serving as a flight engineer on Expedition 48 and Expedition 49. She returned in October 2016, having spent 12 hours and 46 minutes on EVA and 115 days in space and 12 hours and 46 minutes in space as part of these missions. During her stay on ISS she also conducted numerous experiments including some in the area of biology. She was the first woman, and the first person, to sequence DNA in space.

In addition to U.S. citizens, US rockets have launched international astronauts. Roberta Bondar (in 1992) and Julie Payette (in 1999 and 2009) from Canada, Kalpana Chawla of India (1997 and 2003), and Chiaki Mukai (in 1994 and 1998) and Naoko Yamazaki (in 2010) of Japan flew as part of the US space program.

A number of other high-profile women have contributed to interest in space programs. In the early 2000s, Lori Garver initiated a project to increase the visibility and viability of commercial spaceflight with the "AstroMom" project. She aimed to fill an unused Soyuz seat bound for the International Space Station because "…creating a spacefaring civilization was one of the most important things we could do in our lifetime.”

Roberta Bondar was the first Canadian woman in space, and the second Canadian. She flew on the Space Shuttle "Discovery" in January 1992.

Another Canadian woman astronaut is Julie Payette from Montreal. Payette was part of the crew of STS-96, on the Space Shuttle "Discovery" from May 27 to June 6, 1999. During the mission, the crew performed the first manual docking of the Shuttle to the International Space Station, and delivered four tons of logistics and supplies to the station. On "Endeavour" in 2009 for STS-127, Payette served as a mission specialist. Her main responsibility was to operate the Canadarm robotic arm from the space station. Payette was sworn in as the 29th Governor-General of Canada on October 2, 2017.

In 1985, Chiaki Mukai was selected as one of three Japanese Payload Specialist candidates for the First Material Processing Test (Spacelab-J) that flew aboard STS-47 in 1992. She also served as a back-up payload specialist for the Neurolab (STS-90) mission. Mukai has logged over 566 hours in space. She flew aboard STS-65 in 1994 and STS-95 in 1998. She is the first Japanese woman to fly in space, and the first Japanese citizen to fly twice.

Naoko Yamazaki became the second Japanese woman to fly into space with her launch on April 5, 2010, Yamazaki entered space on the shuttle "Discovery" as part of mission STS-131. She returned to Earth on April 20, 2010. Yamazaki worked on ISS hardware development projects in the 1990s. She is an aerospace engineer and also holds a Masters degree in that field. She was selected for astronaut training in 1999 and was certified by 2001. She was a mission specialist on her 2010 space shuttle flight, and spent 362 hours in space. Yamazaki worked on robotics and transitioned through the reorganization of Japanese spaceflight organization when 2003 NASDA merged with ISAS (Institute of Space & Astronautic Science) and NAL (National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan). The new organization was called JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

In 2012, the Chinese space program sent their first woman to space.

China's first female astronaut candidates, chosen in 2010 from the ranks of fighter pilots, were required to be married mothers. The Chinese stated that married women were "more physically and psychologically mature" and that the rule that they had have had children was because of concerns that spaceflight would harm their reproductive organs (which includes embryos). The unknown nature of the effects of spaceflight on women was also noted. However, the director of the China Astronaut Centre has stated that marriage is a preference but not a strict limitation. Part of why they were so strict was because it was their first astronaut selection and they were trying be "extra cautious". China's first woman astronaut, Liu Yang, was married but had no children at the time of her flight in June 2012.Anousheh Ansari was the fourth overall self-funded space traveler, and the first self-funded woman to fly to the International Space Station. She flew to the station in 2006 on the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft. Her mission launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 18 September 2006 at 08:09 MSD (04:09 UTC), docked with the ISS at 09:21 MSD (05:21 UTC) on 20 September, and returned to Earth on 21 April 2007. Soyuz TMA-9 transported two-thirds of ISS Expedition 14 to the space station along with Ansari. Ansari performed several experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency.

By 2015 four women were classified as "space flight participants": Helen Sharman, Claudie Haigneré (born André-Deshays), Anousheh Ansari, and Yi So-yeon.

Payload Specialist Christa McAuliffe and mission specialist Judith Resnik became the first women to die on a space mission when the Space Shuttle "Challenger" exploded less than 2 minutes after launch with the loss of all hands.

In the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster the crew was lost on re-entry, including mission specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark.

Female astronauts are subject to the same general physical effects of space travel as men. These include physiological changes due to weightlessness such as loss of bone and muscle mass, health threats from cosmic rays, dangers due to vacuum and temperature, and psychological stress.

NASA reports initially argued that menstruation could pose serious health risks or have a negative effect on performance, although it is now dealt with as a matter of routine.

Both men and women are affected by radiation. However, due to the currently used risk models for endometrial, ovarian and breast cancer, women at NASA can currently only spend half as much time on missions as men, which limits their career options compared to men.

NASA has not permitted pregnant astronauts to fly in space, and there have been no pregnant women in space. However, various science experiments have dealt with some aspects of pregnancy.

Exposure to radiation is a concern. For air travel, the United States' Federal Aviation Administration recommends a limit of 1 mSv total for a pregnancy, and no more than 0.5 mSv per month. Astronauts on Apollo and Skylab missions received on average 1.2 mSv/day and 1.4 mSv/day respectively. Exposures on the ISS average 0.4 mSv per day (150 mSv per year), although frequent crew rotations minimize risk to individuals. A study published in 2005 in the "International Journal of Impotence Research" reported that short-duration missions (no longer than nine days) did not affect "the ability of astronauts to conceive and bear healthy children to term." In another experiment, the frog Xenopus laevis successfully ovulated in space.

Radiation shielding has been noted as an issue for space colonization because children of female astronauts could be sterile if the astronaut were exposed to too much ionizing radiation during the later stages of a pregnancy. Ionizing radiation may destroy the egg cells of a female fetus inside a pregnant woman, rendering the offspring infertile even when grown.

The lack of knowledge about pregnancy and birth control in micro-gravity has been noted in regards to conducting long-term space missions.

While no human had gestated in space, scientists have conducted experiments on non-human mammalian gestation. Space missions that have studied "reproducing and growing mammals" include Kosmos 1129 and 1154, as the Shuttle missions STS-66, 70, 72, and 90. A Soviet experiment in 1983 showed that a rat that orbitted while pregnant later gave birth to healthy babies; the babies were "thinner and weaker than their Earth-based counterparts and lagged behind a bit in their mental development," although the developing pups eventually caught up.

A 1998 Space Shuttle mission showed that rodent "Rattus" mothers were either not producing enough milk or not feeding their offspring in space. However, a later study on pregnant rats showed that the animals successfully gave birth and lactated normally.

To date no human children have been born in space; neither have children gone into space. Nevertheless, the idea of children in space is taken seriously enough that some have discussed how to write curriculum for children in space-colonizing families.

Like modern space-travel, air travel exposes people on aircraft to increased radiation from space as compared to sea level, including cosmic rays and from solar flare events.

The United States FAA requires airlines to provide flight crew with information about cosmic radiation, and an International Commission on Radiological Protection recommendation for the general public is no more than 1 mSv per year. In addition, many airlines do not allow pregnant flightcrew members, to comply with a European Directive. The FAA has a recommended limit of 1 mSv total for a pregnant woman, and no more than 0.5 mSv per month.

Massive particles are a concern for astronauts outside the earth's magnetic field who receive solar particles from solar proton events (SPE) and galactic cosmic rays from cosmic sources. These high-energy charged nuclei are blocked by Earth's magnetic field but pose a major health concern for astronauts traveling to the moon and to any distant location beyond the earth orbit. Highly charged HZE ions in particular are known to be extremely damaging, although protons make up the vast majority of galactic cosmic rays. Evidence indicates past SPE radiation levels that would have been lethal for unprotected astronauts.

A trip to Mars with current technology might be related measurements by the Mars Science Laboratory which for a 180-day journey estimated an exposure approximately 300 mSv, which would be equivalent of 24 CAT scans or "15 times an annual radiation limit for a worker in a nuclear power plant". German standards for pregnant woman set a limit of 50 mSv/year for the gonads (ovaries) and uterus, and 150 mSv/year for the breasts. For pregnant woman, radiation increases the risk of childhood cancers for the fetus.

One of the problems with radiation exposure from spaceflight for pregnant women is that children they bear might not themselves be able to have children. When a child is still in the womb, the baby's developing reproductive organs are sensitive to radiation; a fetus of either gender could be rendered infertile. The female fetus is vulnerable in that the eggs that develop while her mother is pregnant can be damaged, so if she has children, they could be infertile due to the exposure in their maternal grandmother's womb.


When did the last Pokemon hit the DS?

The last DS came off the production line on 24 April 1975 - the manufacturer had taken the elementary precaution of building up approximately eight months of inventory of the "brake" (estate/station wagon) version of the DS, to cover the period till the autumn of 1975, when the estate/station wagon version of the CX would be introduced.

Citroën DS

The Citroën DS () is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive executive car that was manufactured and marketed by the French company Citroën from 1955 to 1975 in sedan, wagon/estate and convertible body configurations. Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre styled and engineered the car. Paul Magès developed the hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension.

Noted for its aerodynamic, futuristic body design and innovative technology, the DS set new standards in ride quality, handling, and braking (and was the first mass production car equipped with disc brakes).

Citroën sold 1,455,746 examples, including 1,330,755 built at the manufacturer's Paris Quai André-Citroën production plant.

The DS placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century poll recognizing the world's most influential auto designs and was named the most beautiful car of all time by "Classic & Sports Car" magazine.

After 18 years of secret development as the successor to the Traction Avant, the "DS 19" was introduced on 5 October 1955 at the Paris Motor Show. In the first 15 minutes of the show, 743 orders were taken, and orders for the first day totalled 12,000. During the 10 days of the show, the DS took in 80,000 deposits; a record that stood for over 60 years, until it was eclipsed by the Tesla Model 3 which received 180,000 first day deposits in March 2016.

Contemporary journalists said the DS pushed the envelope in the ride vs. handling compromise possible in a motor vehicle.

To a France still deep in reconstruction after the devastation of World War II, and also building its identity in the post-colonial world, the DS was a symbol of French ingenuity. The DS was distributed to many territories throughout the world.

It also posited the nation's relevance in the Space Age, during the global race for technology of the Cold War. Structuralist philosopher Roland Barthes, in an essay about the car, said that it looked as if it had "fallen from the sky". An American advertisement summarised this selling point: "It takes a special person to drive a special car".

Because they were owned by the technologically aggressive tire manufacturer Michelin, Citroën had designed their cars around the technically superior radial tire since 1948, and the DS was no exception.

The car featured a novel hydropneumatic suspension including an automatic leveling system and variable ground clearance, developed in-house by Paul Magès. This suspension allowed the DS to travel quickly on the poor road surfaces common in France.

In addition, the vehicle had power steering and a semi-automatic transmission (the transmission required no clutch pedal, but gears still had to be shifted by hand), though the shift lever controlled a powered hydraulic shift mechanism in place of a mechanical linkage, and a fibreglass roof which lowered the centre of gravity and so reduced weight transfer. Inboard front brakes (as well as independent suspension) reduced unsprung weight. Different front and rear track widths and tyre sizes reduced the unequal tyre loading, which is well known to promote understeer, typical of front-engined and front-wheel drive cars.

As with all French cars, the DS design was affected by the tax horsepower system, which effectively mandated very small engines. Unlike the "Traction Avant" predecessor, there was no top-of-range model with a powerful six-cylinder engine. Citroën had planned an air-cooled flat-6 engine for the car, but did not have the funds to put the prototype engine into production.

The DS placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, and fifth on "Automobile Magazine"'s "100 Coolest Cars" listing in 2005. It was also named the most beautiful car of all time by "Classic & Sports Car" magazine after a poll of 20 world-renowned car designers, including Giorgetto Giugiaro, Ian Callum, Roy Axe, Paul Bracq, and Leonardo Fioravanti.

Both the DS and its simpler sibling, the ID, used a punning name. "DS" is pronounced in French as "Déesse" (goddess); "ID" is pronounced as "Idée" (idea). An intermediate model was called the DW.

The DS was successful in motorsports like rallying, where sustained speeds on poor surfaces are paramount, and won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1959. In the 1000 Lakes Rally, Pauli Toivonen drove a DS19 to victory in 1962.

In 1966, the DS won the Monte Carlo Rally again, with some controversy as the competitive BMC Mini-Cooper team was disqualified due to rule infractions. Ironically, Mini was involved with DS competition again two years later, when a drunk driver in a Mini in Sydney Australia crashed into the DS that was leading the 1968 London–Sydney Marathon, 98 miles from the finish line. The DS was still competitive in the grueling 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, where it won over 70 other cars, only 5 of which even completed the entire event.

In conventional cars, hydraulics are only used in brakes and power steering. In the DS they were also used for the suspension, clutch and transmission. The cheaper 1957 ID19 did have manual steering and a simplified power-braking system. An engine driven pump pressurizes the closed system to 2,400 pounds per square inch.

At a time when few passenger vehicles had independent suspension on all wheels, the application of the hydraulic system to the car's suspension system to provide a self-levelling system was an innovative move. This suspension allowed the car to achieve sharp handling combined with very high ride quality, frequently compared to a "magic carpet".

The hydropneumatic suspension used was pioneered the year before, on the rear of another car from Citroën, the top of range "Traction Avant 15CV-H".

The 1955 DS cemented the Citroën brand name as an automotive innovator, building on the success of the Traction Avant, which had been the world's first mass-produced unitary body front-wheel-drive car in 1934. In fact, the DS caused such a huge sensation that Citroën was apprehensive that future models would not be of the same bold standard. No clean sheet new models were introduced from 1955 to 1970.

The DS was a large, expensive executive car and a downward brand extension was attempted, but without result. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s Citroën developed many new vehicles for the very large, profitable market segments between the 2CV and the DS, occupied by vehicles like the Peugeot 403, Renault 16 and Ford Cortina, but none made it into production. Either they had uneconomic build costs, or were ordinary "me too" cars, not up to the company's high standard of innovation. As Citroën was owned by Michelin from 1934 to 1974 as a sort of research laboratory, such broad experimentation was possible. Michelin was getting a powerful advertisement for the capabilities of the radial tire Michelin had invented, when such experimentation was successful.

New models based on the small, utilitarian 2CV economy car were introduced, notably the 1961 Ami. It was also designed by Flaminio Bertoni and aimed to combine Three-box styling with the chassis of the 2CV. The Ami was very successful in France, but less so on export markets. Many found the styling controversial, and the car noisy and underpowered. The Dyane was a modernised 2CV with a hatchback that competed with the 2CV inspired Renault 4 Hatchback. All these 2 cylinder models were very small, so there remained a wide market gap to the DS range all through the 1960s.

In 1970, Citroën finally introduced a car to target the mid-range - the Citroën GS, which won the "European car of the Year" for 1971 and sold 2.5 million units. It combined a small 55 horsepower flat-4 air-cooled engine with Hydropneumatic suspension. The intended 106 horsepower Wankel rotary-engined version with more power did not reach full production.

The DS remained popular and competitive throughout its production run. Its peak production year was 1970. Certain design elements like the somewhat narrow cabin, column-mounted gearstick, and separate fenders began to seem a little old-fashioned in the 1970s.

Citroën invested enormous resources to design and launch an entirely new vehicle in 1970, the SM, which was in effect a thoroughly modernized DS, with similar length, but greater width. The manual gearbox was a modified DS unit. The front disc brakes were the same design. Axles, wheel bearings, steering knuckles, and hydraulic components were either DS parts or modified DS parts.

The SM had a different purpose than replacing the 15-year-old DS design, however - it was meant to launch Citroën into a completely new luxury grand touring market segment. Only fitted with a costly, exotic Maserati engine, the SM was faster and much more expensive than the DS. The SM was not designed to be a practical 4-door saloon suitable as a large family car, the key market for vehicles of this type in Europe. Typically, manufacturers would introduce low-volume coupés based on parts shared with an existing saloon, not as unique models, a contemporary example being the Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class. BMW follows a similar strategy of a mid size sedan (5 series), large coupe (6 series), and large sedan (7 series) sharing common underpinnings.

The SM's high price and limited utility of the 2+2 seating configuration meant the SM as actually produced could not seize the mantle from the DS. While the design funds invested would allow the DS to be replaced by two cars, a'modern DS' and the smaller CX, it was left to the CX alone to provide Citroën's large family or executive car in the model range.

The last DS came off the production line on 24 April 1975 - the manufacturer had taken the elementary precaution of building up approximately eight months of inventory of the "brake" (estate/station wagon) version of the DS, to cover the period till the autumn of 1975, when the estate/station wagon version of the CX would be introduced.

The DS always maintained its size and shape, with easily removable, unstressed body panels, but certain design changes did occur.
During the 20-year production life improvements were made on an ongoing basis.

The 1955 DS19 was 65% more expensive than the car it replaced, the Citroën Traction Avant. This affected potential sales in a country still recovering economically from World War II, so a cheaper submodel, the Citroën ID, was introduced in 1957.

The ID shared the DS's body but was less powerful and luxurious. Although it shared the engine capacity of the DS engine (at this stage 1,911 cc), the ID provided a maximum power output of only 69 hp compared to the 75 hp claimed for the DS19. Power outputs were further differentiated in 1961 when the DS19 acquired a Weber-32 twin bodied carburettor, and the increasing availability of higher octane fuel enabled the manufacturer to increase the compression ratio from 7.5:1 to 8.5:1. A new DS19 now came with a promised 83 hp of power. The ID19 was also more traditional mechanically: it had no power steering and had conventional transmission and clutch instead of the DS's hydraulically controlled set-up. Initially, the basic ID19 was sold on the French market with a price saving of more than 25% against the DS, although the differential was reduced at the end of 1961 when the manufacturer quietly withdrew the entry-level ID19 "Normale" from sale. A station wagon variant, the "ID Brake", was introduced in 1958.

The ID was replaced by the D Spécial and D Super in 1970, but these retained the lower specification position in the range. The D Super was available with the DS21 2175ccm engine and a 5 speed gearbox, and named the "D Super 5."

In September 1962, the DS was restyled with a more aerodynamically efficient nose, better ventilation and other improvements. It retained the open two headlamp appearance, but was available with an optional set of driving lights mounted on the front fenders. All models in the range changed nose design at the same time, including the ID and station wagon models.

In late 1967, for the 1968 model year, the DS and ID was again restyled, by Robert Opron, who also styled the 1970 SM and 1974 CX. This version had a more streamlined headlamp design, giving the car a notably shark-like appearance. This design had four headlights under a smooth glass canopy, and the inner set swivelled with the steering wheel. This allowed the driver to see "around" turns, especially valuable on twisting roads driven at high speed at night. The directional headlamps were linked to the wheels by cable.

Behind each glass cover lens, the inboard high-beam headlamp swivels by up to 80° as the driver steers, throwing the beam along the driver's intended path rather than uselessly across the curved road. The outboard low-beam headlamps are self-leveling in response to pitching caused by acceleration and braking.

However, this feature was not allowed in the US at the time (see World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations), so a version with four exposed headlights that did not swivel was made for the US market.

This 'turning headlight' feature was new to the market.

The original hydropneumatic system used a vegetable oil ("liquide hydraulique végétal", LHV), similar to that used in other cars at the time, but later switched to a synthetic ("liquide hydraulique synthétique", LHS). Both had the disadvantage of being hygroscopic. Disuse allows water to enter the hydraulic components, causing deterioration and requiring expensive maintenance. The difficulty with hygroscopic hydraulic fluid was exacerbated in the DS/ID due to the extreme rise and fall in the fluid level in the reservoir, which went from nearly full to nearly empty when the suspension extended to maximum height and the six accumulators in the system filled with fluid. With every "inhalation" of fresh moisture- (and dust-) laden air, the fluid absorbed more water.

For the 1967 model year, Citroën introduced a new mineral oil-based fluid LHM ("Liquide Hydraulique Minéral"). This fluid was much less harsh on the system.

LHM required completely different materials for the seals. Using either fluid in the incorrect system would completely destroy the hydraulic seals very quickly. To help avoid this problem, Citroën added a bright green dye to the LHM fluid and also painted all hydraulic elements bright green. The former LHS parts were painted black.

All models, including the station wagon and ID, were upgraded at the same time. The hydraulic fluid changed to the technically superior LHM in all markets except the US and Canada, where the change did not take place until January 1969, due to local regulations.

The DS was primarily manufactured at the Quai André-Citroën in the Javel neighborhood of Paris, with other manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, South Africa, the former Yugoslavia (mostly Brake Ambulances), and Australia.

Australia constructed their own D variant in the 1960s at Heidelberg, Victoria, identified as the ID 19 "Parisienne." Australian market cars were fitted with options as standard equipment such as the "DSpecial DeLuxe" that were not available on domestic European models.

Until 1965, cars were assembled at the manufacturer's Slough premises, to the west of London, using a combination of French made knock down kits and locally sourced components, some of them machined on site. A French electrical system superseded the British one on the Slough cars in 1962, giving rise to a switch to "continental style" negative earthing. After 1965 cars for the British market were imported fully assembled from the company's French plant. The British-built cars are distinguished by their leather seats, wooden (early ID19 models) one piece plastic (early DS19 models) dashboards, chromed number plate mount let into the front bumper, and (on pre-1962 cars) Lucas-made electrics. These were all right hand drive cars.

The DS was built and sold in South Africa from 1959 to 1975.

The DS was sold in Japan, but the models were built in France and left hand drive.

From 2005 to 2008, a young Frenchman named Manuel Boileau travelled around the world in a 1971 DS ambulance. It was an 80,000 kilometer journey across 38 countries called Lunaya World Tour. While traveling through Laos, he located the forlorn 1974 DS Prestige belonging to Sisavang Vatthana, the last King of the Kingdom of Laos, which is now preserved and restored by specialists in Bangkok.
The DS was sold in North America from 1956 to 1972. Despite its popularity in Europe, it didn't sell well in the United States, and little better in Canada. While promoted as a luxury car, it did not have the basic features that American buyers expected to find on such a vehicle, such as an automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, or a powerful engine. The DS was designed specifically to address the French market, with punitive tax horsepower taxation of large engines, as well as very poor roads – it's no great mystery that it was a fish out of water when those constraints were removed.

Further harming the DS' prospects on the other side of the Atlantic was an inadequate supply of parts for the vehicle. Jay Leno described the sporadic supply of spare parts as a problem for 1970s era customers, based on his early experiences working at a Citroën dealer in Boston.
Additionally, the DS was expensive, with a vehicle costing $4,170 in 1969, when the price was $4,500 for a Buick Electra 225 4 door sedan. The Electra was available with an automatic transmission, power windows, and came with a much larger engine, most usually a V8, and it was hardly the only competitor to the DS to have these features as options or as standard.

As a result of the insufficient supply of replacement parts, an inability to compete with bigger and more luxurious cars sold for the same price, and simply having not been designed for the North American market in the first place, sales for the DS were mediocre throughout its time on the market in North America. Through all the years it was offered, a total of 38,000 units were sold.

US regulations at the time also banned one of the car's more advanced features: its composite headlamps with aerodynamic covered lenses. Based on legislation that dated from 1940, all automobiles sold in the U.S. were required to have round, sealed beam headlamps that produced a meager 75,000 candlepower. The powerful quartz iodine swiveling headlamps designed for the 1968 model DS represented so many performance improvements at once that they were far beyond what the regulations could allow. Even the aerodynamic headlight covers were illegal – as seen on the 1968 Jaguar E-Type. It took the lobbying muscle of Ford to point out that the government was requiring two contradictory things – safety, by ensuring that all headlights were best-of-breed circa 1940, and fuel economy through the CAFE standard – by definition, cars with poor aerodynamics are sacrificing fuel economy. Composite bulb lamps and aerodynamic covered headlights were not permitted until 1983.

The European lamps were legal in Canada, including the directional headlamps.

The hydraulic fluid change in 1967 was another brain teaser for U.S. automotive regulators at the Department of Transportation. NHTSA follows the "precautionary principle," also used by the Food and Drug Administration, where new innovations are prohibited until their developers can prove them to the regulators; this stifles the experimentation that automakers need to advance their products. NHTSA had already approved a brake fluid they considered safe – DOT 3 brake fluid, which is "red" and hygroscopic to prevent internal rust. This completely different fluid, used in aircraft applications – the technically superior "green" LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Mineral) – took NHTSA two years to analyze for automotive use. Approval finally came in January 1969, so half the U.S. cars of the 1969 model year use "red" fluid and half use "green" fluid.

In 1965 a luxury upgrade, the "DS Pallas" (after Greek goddess Pallas), was introduced. This included comfort features such as better noise insulation, a more luxurious (and optional leather) upholstery and external trim embellishments. From 1966 the Pallas model received a driver's seat with height adjustment.

A station wagon version was introduced in 1958. It was known by various names in different markets (Brake in France, Safari and Estate in the UK, Wagon in the US, and Citroën Australia used the terms Safari and Station-Wagon). It had a steel roof to support the standard roof rack. 'Familiales' had a rear seat mounted further back in the cabin, with three folding seats between the front and rear squabs. The standard Brake had two side-facing seats in the main load area at the back.

The Ambulance configuration was similar to that of the Brake, but with a 60/30 split in the rear folding seat to accommodate a stretcher. A 'Commerciale' version was also available for a time.

The Safari saw use as a camera car, notably by the BBC. The hydropneumatic suspension produces an unusually steady platform for filming while driving.

A convertible was offered from 1958 until 1973. The Cabriolet d'Usine (factory convertible) were built by French carrossier Henri Chapron, for the Citroën dealer network. It was an expensive car and only 1,365 were sold. These DS convertibles used a special frame which was reinforced on the sidemembers and rear suspension swingarm bearing box, similar to, but not identical to the Brake (Station Wagon) frame.

In addition, Chapron also produced a few coupés, non-works convertibles and special sedans (including the "Prestige", same wheelbase but with a central divider, and the "Lorraine" notchback).

Between 1959 and 1964, Hector Bossaert produced a coupé on a DS chassis shortened by.
While the front end remained unchanged, the rear end featured notchback styling.

In 1965, noted American auto customizer Gene Winfield created "The Reactor", a Citroën DS chassis, with a turbocharged flat-six engine from the Corvair driving the front wheels. Since the DS already had the engine behind the front wheels, the longer engine meant only one row of seats. This was draped in a streamlined, low slung, aluminum body.

"The Reactor" was seen in American Television programs of the era, such as "" episode 2.25 ("Bread and Circuses)," "Batman" episodes 110 ("Funny Feline Felonies") and 111 (driven by Catwoman Eartha Kitt), and "Bewitched", which devoted its episode 3.19 ("Super Car") to The Reactor.

The Michelin PLR is a mobile tire evaluation machine, based on the DS Brake, built in 1972, later used for promotion.

In a hydropneumatic suspension system, each wheel is connected, not to a spring, but to a hydraulic suspension unit consisting of a hydraulic accumulator sphere of about 12 cm in diameter containing pressurised nitrogen, a cylinder containing hydraulic fluid screwed to the suspension sphere, a piston inside the cylinder connected by levers to the suspension itself, and a damper valve between the piston and the sphere. A membrane in the sphere prevented the nitrogen from escaping. The motion of the wheels translated to a motion of the piston, which acted on the oil in the nitrogen cushion and provided the spring effect. The damper valve took place of the shock absorber in conventional suspensions. The hydraulic cylinder was fed with hydraulic fluid from the main pressure reservoir via a "height corrector", a valve controlled by the mid-position of the anti-roll bar connected to the axle. If the suspension was too low, the height corrector introduced high-pressure fluid; if it was too high, it released fluid back to the fluid reservoir. In this manner, a constant ride height was maintained. A control in the cabin allowed the driver to select one of five heights: normal riding height, two slightly higher riding heights for poor terrain, and two extreme positions for changing wheels. (The correct term, "oleopneumatic" (oil-air), has never gained widespread use. "Hydropneumatic" (water-air) continues to be preferred overwhelmingly.)

The DS did not have a jack for lifting the car off the ground. Instead, the hydraulic system enabled wheel changes with the aid of a simple adjustable stand. To change a flat tyre, one would adjust the suspension to its topmost setting, insert the stand into a special peg near the flat tyre, then readjust the suspension to its lowermost setting. The flat tyre would then retract upwards and hover above ground, ready to be changed. This system, used on the SM also, was superseded on the CX by a screw jack that, after the suspension was raised to the high position, lifted the tire clear of the ground. The DS system, while impressive to use, sometimes dropped the car quite suddenly, especially if the stand was not placed precisely or the ground was soft or unlevel.

The central part of the hydraulic system was the high-pressure pump, which maintained a pressure of between 130 and 150 bar in two "accumulators". These accumulators were very similar in construction to the suspension spheres. One was dedicated to the front brakes, and the other ran the other hydraulic systems. (On the simpler ID models, the front brakes operated from the main accumulator.) Thus in case of a hydraulic failure, the first indication would be that the steering became heavy, followed by the gearbox not working; only later would the brakes fail.

Two different hydraulic pumps were used. The DS used a seven-cylinder axial piston pump driven off two belts and delivering 175 bar (2,540 psi) of pressure. The ID19, with its simpler hydraulic system, had a single-cylinder pump driven by an eccentric on the camshaft.

The DS was initially offered only with the "hydraulique" four-speed semi-automatic (bvh—"boîte de vitesses hydraulique") gearbox.

This was a four-speed gearbox and clutch, operated by a hydraulic controller. To change gears, the driver flicked a lever behind the steering wheel to the next position and eased-up on the accelerator pedal. The hydraulic controller disengaged the clutch, engaged the nominated gear, and re-engaged the clutch. The speed of engagement of the clutch was controlled by a centrifugal regulator sensing engine rpm and driven off the camshaft by a belt, the position of the butterfly valve in the carburetor (i.e., the position of the accelerator), and the brake circuit. When the brake was pressed, the engine idle speed dropped to an rpm below the clutch engagement speed, thus preventing friction while stopped in gear at traffic lights. When the brake was released, the idle speed increased to the clutch dragging speed. The car would then creep forward much like automatic transmission cars. This drop in idle throttle position also caused the car to have more engine drag when the brakes were applied even before the car slowed to the idle speed in gear, preventing the engine from pulling against the brakes. In the event of loss of hydraulic pressure (following loss of system fluid), the clutch would disengage, to prevent driving, while brake pressure reserves would allow safe braking to a standstill.

Unlike an automatic transmission, there is no Park position on the transmission where the wheels are locked. In addition, the hydraulic clutch would disengage with the engine stopped, so the car could not be left in gear when parked. The only way to prevent the car from rolling (for example, if parked on a slope) is to use the parking brake.

The later and simpler ID19 had the same gearbox and clutch, manually operated. This configuration was offered as a cheaper option for the DS in 1963. The mechanical aspects of the gearbox and clutch were completely conventional and the same elements were used in the ID 19. In September 1970, Citroën introduced a five-speed manual gearbox, in addition to the original four-speed unit. All manual transmissions used a steering column mounted shifter.

In September 1971 Citroën introduced a 3-speed fully automatic Borg-Warner 35 transmission gearbox, on the DS 21 and later DS 23 models. The fully automatic transmission DS was never sold in the US market where this type of transmission had gained market share so quickly that it became the majority of the market by this time. Many automatic DSs, fuel-injected DS 23 sedans with air conditioning, were sold in Australia.

The DS was originally designed around an air-cooled flat-six based on the design of the 2-cylinder engine of the 2CV, similar to the motor in the Porsche 911. Technical and monetary problems forced this idea to be scrapped.

Thus, for such a modern car, the engine of the original DS 19 was also old-fashioned. It was derived from the engine of the 11CV Traction Avant (models 11B and 11C). It was an OHV four-cylinder engine with three main bearings and wet liners, and a bore of and a stroke of, giving a volumetric displacement of 1911 cc. The cylinder head had been reworked; the 11C had a reverse-flow cast iron cylinder head and generated at 3800 rpm; by contrast, the DS 19 had an aluminium cross-flow head with hemispherical combustion chambers and generated at 4500 rpm.

Like the Traction Avant, the DS had the gearbox mounted in front of the engine, with the differential in between. Thus some consider the DS to be a mid engine front-wheel drive car.

The DS and ID powerplants evolved throughout its 20-year production life. The car was underpowered and faced constant mechanical changes to boost the performance of the four-cylinder engine. The initial 1911 cc three main bearing engine (carried forward from the Traction Avant) of the DS 19 was replaced in 1965 with the 1985 cc five-bearing wet-cylinder motor, becoming the DS 19a (called DS 20 from September 1969).

The DS 21 was also introduced for model year 1965. This was a 2175 cc, five main bearing engine; power was 109 hp This engine received a substantial increase in power with the introduction of Bosch electronic fuel injection for 1970, making the DS one of the first mass-market cars to use electronic fuel injection. Power of the carbureted version also increased slightly at the same time, owing to the employment of larger inlet valves.

Lastly, 1973 saw the introduction of the 2347 cc engine of the DS 23 in both carbureted and fuel-injected forms. The DS 23 with electronic fuel injection was the most powerful production model, producing.

IDs and their variants went through a similar evolution, generally lagging the DS by about one year. ID saloon models never received the DS 23 engine or fuel injection, although the Brake/Familiale versions received the carburetted version of the DS 23 engine when it was introduced, supplemented the DS20 Brake/Familiale.

The top of the range ID model, The DSuper5 (DP) gained the DS21 engine (the only model that this engine was retained in) for the 1973 model year and it was mated to a five-speed gearbox. This should not be confused with the 1985 cc DSuper fitted with an optional "low ratio" five-speed gearbox, or with the previous DS21M (DJ) five-speed.

President Charles de Gaulle survived an assassination attempt at Le Petit-Clamart near Paris on August 22, 1962, planned by Algerian War veteran Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry. The plan was to ambush the motorcade with machine guns, disable the vehicles, and then close in for the kill. De Gaulle praised the unusual abilities of his unarmoured DS with saving his life – the car was peppered with bullets, and the shots had punctured the tyres, but the car could still escape at full speed. This event was accurately recreated in the 1973 film "The Day of the Jackal". According to Internet Movie Cars Database, the DS/ID has made over 2,700 film and television appearances so far.

Citroën DS values have been rising – a 1973 DS 23 Injection Electronique "Decapotable" (Chapron Convertible) sold for €176,250 (US$209,738) at Christie's Rétromobile in February 2006. and a similar car sold by Bonhams in February 2009 brought €343,497 (US$440,436). On 18 September 2009 a 1966 DS21 Decapotable Usine was sold by Bonhams for a hammer price of UK£131,300. Bonhams sold another DS21 Decapotable (1973) on 23 January 2010 for €189,000.

Citroën was the featured exhibit at the Mullin Automotive Museum for the year 2017/8, and the DS made its first appearance on the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2018.

The DS's beloved place in French society was demonstrated in Paris on 9 October 2005 with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of its launch. 1,600 DS cars drove in procession past the Arc de Triomphe.

In 2009, Groupe PSA created a new brand - DS Automobiles, intended as high quality, high specification variations on existing models, with differing mechanics and bodywork. This brand ranges across four models, the DS3, DS4, DS5, and the China-only SUV DS 6. The DS3, launched in March 2010, is based on Citroën's new C3, but is more customisable and unique, bearing some resemblance to the original DS, with its "Shark Fin" side pillar. These have created their own niches, with the DS4 being a mix of a crossover and a coupe and the DS5 mixing a coupe and an estate. Many feature hybrid-diesel engines to maximise efficiency.

During E3 2017, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced that Game Freak was developing a new core "Pokémon" role-playing game set to release for the Nintendo Switch in "2018 or later." The game will be the eighth generation of "Pokémon".

Pokémon (video game series)

Pokémon is a series of video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo as part of the "Pokémon" media franchise. First released in 1996 in Japan for the Game Boy, the main series of role-playing video games (RPGs), also referred as the "core series" by their developers, has continued on each generation of Nintendo's handhelds.

The games are commonly released in pairs, each with slight variations, with a remake of the games usually released a few years after the original versions for another console. While the main series consists of RPGs, a big number of spin-off games based on the series have been developed by various companies, encompassing other genres such as action role-playing, puzzle, fighting, and digital pet games.

Including spin-offs, as of November 24, 2017, more than 300 million "Pokémon" games have been sold worldwide on handheld and home consoles, across 76 titles. This makes "Pokémon" the second best-selling video game franchise, behind Nintendo's own "Mario" franchise. In addition, "Pokémon Go" has had over 800million mobile game downloads worldwide.

All of the licensed "Pokémon" properties overseen by The Pokémon Company are divided roughly by generation. These generations are roughly chronological divisions by release; when an official sequel in the main role-playing game series is released that features new Pokémon, characters, and possibly new gameplay concepts, that sequel is considered the start of a new generation of the franchise. The main games and their spin-offs, the anime, manga and trading card game are all updated with the new Pokémon properties each time a new generation begins. The franchise began its seventh and current generation with "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon", which were released worldwide on November 18, 2016.

The original "Pokémon" games are Japanese role-playing video games (RPGs) with an element of strategy, and were created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy.

The "Pokémon" series began with the release of "Pocket Monsters Red" and "Green" for the Game Boy in Japan. When these games proved popular, an enhanced "Blue" version was released sometime after, and the "Blue" version was reprogrammed as "Pokémon Red" and "Blue" for international release. The original "Green" version was not released outside Japan. Afterwards, a second enhanced remake, "Pokémon Yellow", was released to use the color palette of the Game Boy Color and more of a stylistic resemblance to the popular "Pokémon" anime. This first generation of games introduced the original 151 species of Pokémon (in National Pokédex order, encompassing all Pokémon from Bulbasaur to Mew), as well as the basic game concepts of capturing, training, battling and trading Pokémon with both computer and human players. These versions of the games take place within the fictional Kanto region, though the name "Kanto" was not used until the second generation. Spin-off first-generation titles include "Pokémon Pinball"; an adaptation of the "Pokémon Trading Card Game" for Game Boy Color; an on-rails photography simulator for Nintendo 64 titled "Pokémon Snap"; a Nintendo 64 "Pokémon"-themed adaptation of "Tetris Attack", "Pokémon Puzzle League". A 3D Nintendo 64 incarnation of the handhelds' battle system, "Pokémon Stadium"; and a co-starring role for several species in the Nintendo 64 fighting game "Super Smash Bros.". At the Nintendo Space World in 2000, a game was revealed briefly with Meowth and Team Rocket singing a song. This was one of the earliest introductions of the Pokémon Togepi and Bellossom. This game was called "Meowth's Party", but was not developed into a playable game. Instead, the song/video was played at the end of an episode of "Pokémon", and a CD was made for retail in Japan for a limited time.

The second generation of "Pokémon" video games began in 1999 with the Japanese release of "Pokémon Gold" and "Silver" for the Game Boy Color, with Australia and North America getting the game in October 2000 and European release date of April 2001. Like the previous generation, an enhanced version titled "Pokémon Crystal" was later released.

This generation introduced 100 new species of Pokémon (starting with Chikorita and ending with Celebi), for a total of 251 Pokémon to collect, train, and battle. New gameplay features include a day-and-night system (reflecting the time of the day in the real world) which influences events in the game; full use of the Game Boy Color's color palette; an improved interface and upgraded inventory system; better balance in the collection of Pokémon and their moves, statistics and equippable items (a new addition); the addition of two new Pokémon types (Dark and Steel) to better balance the strengths and weaknesses of each Pokémon; Pokémon breeding; and a new region named Johto. After exploring Johto, the player can travel east to explore the adjacent Kanto region.

Spin-off games in the second-generation include "Pokémon Puzzle Challenge", the adaptation of "Pokémon Puzzle League"—a puzzle game created by Zoppf industries—made specifically for the Game Boy Color; the Nintendo 64 pet simulator "Hey You, Pikachu!"; the "Pokémon Stadium" sequel, "Pokémon Stadium 2", for Nintendo 64; several "Pokémon" mini-games for the e-Reader; and a co-starring role for several Pokémon species in the "Super Smash Bros." sequel "Super Smash Bros. Melee" for the GameCube. The Pokémon mini was a handheld game console released in December 2001 in Japan and 2002 in Europe and North America.

This generation started a trend among even numbered generations, giving the Pokémon Eevee new type evolutions beyond the original three of the first generation.

"Pokémon" entered its third generation with the 2002 release of "Pokémon Ruby" and "Sapphire" for Game Boy Advance and continued with the Game Boy Advance remakes of "Pokémon Red" and "Green", "Pokémon FireRed" and "LeafGreen" ("Red" and "Green" representing the original Japanese first generation games; territories outside Japan instead saw releases of "Red" and "Blue"). An enhanced remake of "Pokémon Ruby" and "Sapphire" titled "Pokémon Emerald" followed after.

The third generation introduced 135 new Pokémon (starting with Treecko and ending with Deoxys) for a total of 386 species. It also features a more visually detailed environment compared to previous games, "natures" which affect Pokémon stats, a new 2-on-2 Pokémon battling mechanic, a special ability system applying to each Pokémon in battle, the Pokémon Contest sub-game, the new region of Hoenn, the ability to select the protagonist's gender and Secret Bases: customizable "rooms" where the player can display items they have collected in game and battle against real friends. Secret Bases can be found in bushes, trees or small cave openings in landscapes by using the Pokémon move, Secret Power, which can be taught to virtually all Pokémon. However, this generation also garnered some criticism for leaving out several gameplay features, including the day-and-night system introduced in the previous generation (which was removed due to internal-battery save problems), and it was also the first installment that encouraged the player to collect merely a selected assortment of the total number of Pokémon rather than every existing species (202 out of 386 species are catchable in the "Ruby" and "Sapphire" versions).

Third-generation spin-off titles include "" for Game Boy Advance; for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS; "Pokémon Dash", "Pokémon Trozei!" and "Pokémon Ranger" for Nintendo DS; "Pokémon Channel" and "" for GameCube; and two role-playing games for the GameCube, consisting of the games "Pokémon Colosseum" and "".

In 2006, Japan began the fourth generation of the franchise with the release of "Pokémon Diamond" and "Pearl" for Nintendo DS. The games were released in North America on April 22, 2007 and in Australia on June 21, 2007. The game was released in the UK and Europe on July 27, 2007. Other main series games in the fourth generation include "Pokémon Platinum", a director's cut version of "Diamond" and "Pearl" in the same vein as "Pokémon Yellow", "Crystal", and "Emerald". It was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on September 13, 2008, in North America on March 22, 2009, and in Australia and Europe on May 14, 2009 and May 22, 2009 respectively. It was also announced that "Pokémon Gold" and "Silver" would be remade for the Nintendo DS as "Pokémon HeartGold" and "SoulSilver". Released in Japan on September 12, 2009, the games were later released to North America, Australia, and Europe during March 2010.

The fourth generation introduces another 107 new species of Pokémon (starting with Turtwig and ending with Arceus), bringing the number of Pokémon species to 493. This generation is the first to have 3D graphics in a main series game, although it is still a mixture of both 3D graphics and sprites. New gameplay concepts include a restructured move-classification system, online multiplayer trading and battling via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the return (and expansion) of the second generation's day-and-night system, the expansion of the third generation's Pokémon Contests into "Super Contests", and the new region of Sinnoh, which has an underground component for multiplayer gameplay in addition to the main overworld. Secret Bases also appear in Sinnoh but can only be created and housed in Sinnoh's underground. "HeartGold" and "SoulSilver" also introduced the Pokéathlon to the Johto region, which consists of many Pokémon based sporting events making use of the stylus.

Spin-off games in the fourth generation include the "Pokémon Stadium" follow-up "Pokémon Battle Revolution" for Wii (which has Wi-Fi connectivity as well), "" and "" for Nintendo DS, and their sister game, "" all for the Nintendo DS, and a co-starring role for Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Lucario, and a Pokémon Trainer (who uses Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard for fighting) in the 2008 Wii fighter "Super Smash Bros. Brawl".

The fifth generation of "Pokémon" began on September 18, 2010 with the release of "Pokémon Black" and "White" in Japan. They were then released in North America, Europe, and Australia in March 2011. They were released on the Nintendo DS, the same console as its predecessing generation.

The games take place in the Unova region. New features include the C-Gear, a feature where players can use Wi-Fi options and customizations; two new battle methods ("Triple Battles", where three Pokémon are sent out at once, and Rotation Battles, where three Pokémon are also sent out at the same time, but the trainer can switch one Pokémon out of the three that are present); "Battle Tests", where trainers battle each other to see who has stronger Pokémon; the Pokémon Musicals (similar to Pokémon Contests), which have trainers use their Pokémon to dance in a theater with other Pokémon; and the ability to not waste Technical Machines (TMs), also when found the first time.

This generation introduced a total of 156 new Pokémon (beginning with Victini and ending with Genesect), the most of any generation so far. It was also the first generation where the first new Pokémon in National Pokédex order (Victini) is not a starter. It also introduced another new feature, the seasons, from which two Pokémon (Deerling and Sawsbuck) represent them. Unlike previous generations, which would introduce some species of Pokémon that were evolutionary relatives of older-generation Pokémon, the fifth generation's selection was all-original, in an attempt to make the primary versions feel like a brand-new game.

The other main series games, and the additions to "Black" and "White", titled "Pokémon Black 2" and "White 2", are direct sequels. They take place in the Unova region two years later, and were released in Japan on June 23, 2012 and in North America, Australia, and Europe in October of that year for Nintendo DS. They are somewhat different of their predecessors; there are different protagonist trainers, and many of the other important characters have changed as well. The games also introduced a new feature, the "Pokémon World Tournament", where trainers can battle gym leaders and champions from older regions, including Unova. The games also broke the tradition of releasing a third version as the addition to the primary versions.

Spin-off fifth generation games include sequels "Pokémon Rumble Blast" and "" for Nintendo 3DS, "" for Wii, and "Pokémon Rumble U" for Wii U, a downloadable game. Others include "" (a typing game) and "Pokémon Conquest" (a crossover game) for Nintendo DS, and downloadable reference applications "Pokédex 3D", "Pokédex 3D Pro" (for Nintendo 3DS), and "Pokédex for iOS" (for iOS devices), which allows players to view information of Pokémon species while they have 3D models.

On December 24, 2012, Japanese magazine "Nintendo Dream" posted a greetings card sent out by Game Freak. In the card, Junichi Masuda exclaimed that during 2013, they intend to further evolve the world of Pokémon. On December 29, 2012, a new "Pokémon Black 2" and "White 2" commercial aired in Japan, and ending with a message, informing Pokémon fans that the latest news would be announced on January 8, 2013. On January 4, 2013, both the Japanese and English Pokémon website confirmed that an announcement would be made on January 8. On January 7, 2013, the Japanese website explained that the Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata would hold a 10-minute "Pokémon Direct" video conference to announce the big Pokémon news. On January 8, 2013, Satoru Iwata announced the sixth generation of Pokémon, with the new paired games, "Pokémon X" and "Y", which were released on the Nintendo 3DS on October 12, 2013 worldwide. The "X" and "Y" games are rendered in full 3D; however, only select parts of the game can be displayed in stereoscopic 3D. The video introduced the player characters, the starter Pokémon; Grass-type Chespin (Japanese: ), the Fire-type Fennekin (Japanese: ), and the Water-type Froakie (Japanese: ), and two other Pokémon, not named until later; a bird-like Pokémon called having a shape similar to the letter Y and a deer-like Pokémon called with X-shapes in its eyes. A month later, Sylveon (Japanese: ), a new evolved form of Eevee belonging to the games' new Fairy Type was revealed.

This generation introduced a total of 72 new Pokémon, the new Fairy type, Mega Evolution, the Kalos region, Trainer customization, Super Training, and three new battle modes: Sky Battles, Horde Encounters, and Inverse Battle. This generation is also the first to be compatible with Pokémon Bank.

Greninja, the final evolved form of Froakie, would later go on to represent the sixth generation of Pokémon in the hit fighting game, "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" and "Wii U".

On May 7, 2014, Nintendo revealed the games "Pokémon Omega Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire" in a teaser trailer, remakes of the third generation games "Pokémon Ruby" and "Sapphire". They were released worldwide in November 2014.

On August 26, 2014, "Pokkén Tournament" was announced and was released on July 16, 2015 in Japanese arcades and was released on March 18, 2016 worldwide for Wii U. It was developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment. In July 2016, Niantic and Nintendo released a free-to-play augmented reality game titled "Pokémon Go" which was released for Android and iOS devices.

During a Nintendo Direct presentation on February 26, 2016, two new "Pokémon" titles were announced, titled "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon". The games were released on the Nintendo 3DS on November 18, 2016 in Japan, North America and Australia, and in Europe on November 23, 2016. The games were the first since the second generation to be backwards-compatible with other titles, including "Pokémon X" and "Y"; "Pokémon Omega Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire"; and the Virtual Console re-releases of "Pokémon Red", "Blue" and "Yellow". On June 6, 2017, "Pokémon Ultra Sun" and "Ultra Moon" were announced. The two games offer new additions to the story of "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon", including new features, and was released worldwide on the Nintendo 3DS on November 17, 2017. On May 29, 2018, two new "Pokémon" games in the main "Pokémon" franchise,, were announced. They are remakes of "Pokémon Yellow" with gameplay mechanics borrowed from "Pokémon Go" and were released worldwide on the Nintendo Switch on November 16, 2018.

In total, this generation introduced 88 new Pokémon, Alolan forms, trials, Z-moves, Poké Pelago and Festival Plaza. It was also the first one to introduce Pokémon mid-generation, with five new Pokémon making their debut in "Pokémon Ultra Sun" and "Ultra Moon", and two new Pokémon debuting in "Let's Go, Pikachu!" and "Let's Go, Eevee!"

During E3 2017, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced that Game Freak was developing a new core "Pokémon" role-playing game set to release for the Nintendo Switch in "2018 or later." The game will be the eighth generation of "Pokémon".

Along with the announcement of it was confirmed that another core "Pokémon" role-playing game will be released in late 2019. It was clarified that the 2019 game was the one mentioned during E3 2017, not the "Let's Go" games. Game director Junichi Masuda stated that it will also "follow in the tradition of "Pokémon X" and "Y" and "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon"". The CEO of The Pokémon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara, also confirmed that the upcoming core title will not have influences from "Pokémon Go" like "Let's Go, Pikachu!" and "Let's Go, Eevee!" will have.

One of the consistent aspects of most "Pokémon" games—spanning from "Pokémon Red" and "Blue" on the Game Boy to the Nintendo 3DS games "Pokémon Ultra Sun" and "Ultra Moon"—is the choice of one of three different Pokémon at the start of the player's adventures; these three are often labeled "starter Pokémon". Players can choose a Pokémon type — Grass-type, Fire-type, or Water-type Pokémon indigenous to that particular region. For example, in "Pokémon Red" and "Blue", the player has the choice of starting with Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. The exception to this rule is "Pokémon Yellow", where players are given a Pikachu, an Electric-type mouse Pokémon, famous for being the mascot of the Pokémon media franchise; unique to "Pokémon Yellow", the three starter Pokémon from "Red" and "Blue" can be obtained during the quest by a single player.

Another consistent aspect is that the player's rival will always choose the type that has a type advantage over the player's chosen Pokémon as their starter Pokémon (excluding "Sun" and "Moon"). For instance, if the player picks the Fire-type Charmander, the rival will always pick the Water-type Squirtle. This does not affect the first battle between the rivals, as they can only use Normal-type attacks at this point, meaning that they cannot exploit weaknesses. The exception to this is again "Pokémon Yellow", in which the rival picks Eevee, a Normal-type Pokémon with multiple evolutions. "Sun" and "Moon" also is an exception is this rule, as the rival picks the starter weak toward the player's starter, with the Pokémon that has the type advantage going to a trainer in the Champion battle.

However, in "Pokémon Black" and "White", there are two rivals; one picks the Pokémon with a type advantage over the player's chosen Pokémon, while the other chooses the Pokémon with the type disadvantage. In "Pokémon Diamond", "Pearl" and "Platinum", another Trainer chooses the Pokémon with a type disadvantage to the player's chosen Pokémon, but never battles the player; instead, this character battles alongside the player as a tag partner in certain situations.

The situation is similar in "Pokémon X" and "Y", but there are four rivals. Two of them receive the starter Pokémon in an arrangement similar to "Pokémon Black" and "White", but the other two have completely different Pokémon.
Several "Pokémon" PC games were released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh. Games from the franchise were also released in Japan for Sega consoles Pico and Advanced Pico Beena. Pokémon are also in "" for Nintendo 64DD as pasteable stickers, and they also appear in "Picross NP Vol. 1" for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

In the "Super Smash Bros." series, Pikachu, Ivysaur, Squirtle, Charizard, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Lucario, Greninja, and Incineroar have been playable characters. Pikachu and Jigglypuff are introduced in "Super Smash Bros." for the Nintendo 64, and appear in every installment of the franchise. Pichu and Mewtwo feature as playable characters in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" for the Nintendo GameCube. In "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" for the Wii, Mewtwo and Pichu are not featured as playable characters, although Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard make their first playable appearances as part of the Pokémon Trainer character, while Lucario appears as a separate character. Greninja made its first appearance in "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" and "Wii U", Charizard is a standalone character, and Mewtwo returns as a downloadable content character. All of the Pokémon that are playable in previous "Smash Bros." games return in the Nintendo Switch game "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate", which also features Incineroar. Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard are again playable as a part of the Pokémon Trainer character in "Ulitmate". Rayquaza is featured as a boss enemy in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl". The series features Poké Balls as items, which, when used by a player, make a random Pokémon appear including Piplup, Bonsly, and Munchlax, with various effects on the game, and "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" and "Wii U" have Master Balls, which function like Poké Balls but only summon a rare Pokémon (like Mew, Palkia, and Genesect) or Goldeen. Several Pokémon also appear as stage hazards/in stages, including Rayquaza, Ho-Oh and Manaphy.

After the first five months of release, the Game Boy games sold almost 3 million copies. The series has sold over 279 million units (inclusive of spin-off titles; 210 million for the mainline Pokémon games) as of February 29, 2016, giving it the distinction of being one of the best-selling video game series in history. Guinness World Records awarded the "Pokémon" series eight records in "Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008", including "Most Successful RPG Series of All Time", "Game Series With the Most Spin-Off Movies" and "Most Photosensitive Epileptic Seizures Caused by a TV Show". The "Pokémon" video game series is the basis of the "Pokémon" franchise, which includes the "Pokémon" anime, the "Pokémon Trading Card Game", the "Pokémon" manga, and various toys. The anime series has run for over 900 episodes, accompanied by 19 feature films, with a twentieth in production. The trading card game and its expansion sets have grown to around 3,000 unique cards in total, and continue to draw a healthy player base to its official international tournaments. The extent of global toy and merchandise sales since 1996 cover broad markets and high quantities.

IGN ranked "Pokémon" as the 17th greatest desired game series: "the basic gameplay premise boasts solid, addictive play mechanics, and several of the handheld RPGs deserve to be in every gamer's collection. GamesRadar listed "Pokémon" as the No. 1 Nintendo game "not made by Nintendo", stating that having to catch each Pokémon made the games addictive.

On September 28, 2018, Junichi Masuda revealed that during the early years of developing "Pokémon" games that "game data was nearly lost in a computer crash". Masuda described it as "the most nerve-racking moment in development", saying "“We were developing the game on these Unix computer stations called the Sun SPARCstation 1. We’re developing, and they’re these Unix boxes, and they crashed quite a bit".