The women who traveled to space aboard the Blue Origin capsule earlier in April have since faced relentless criticism of the trip: It’s been called tone-deaf, a waste of money and worse. But at the TIME100 gala in New York City on April 24, mission member Gayle King told reporters she’ll never get sick of answering questions about it because she thinks the trip had a positive impact.

“I’ll never be tired of it. I feel so proud. I feel so brave. I know the message that it’s sending to young women and girls and boys, too, of all ages,” King insisted. She then spoke about meeting a little girl during Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day on Thursday.

“She had on a NASA T-shirt that she wore just for me,” King shared. “Because, she said, ‘I saw you and you look so afraid and you did it anyway. And it made me think it’s OK to do stuff that scares you.'”

“I know the difference it made,” she asserted. “So I focus on the positivity.”

King added that while the focus has been on the more famous members of the crew, like Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez, it was more than just celebrities in space.

“To me, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, these women who were rocket scientists and astrophysicists and filmmakers and all their backstories … it was such a bonding experience for all of us,” King said of the crew. “We’ll never forget it.”

In fact, King shared that all six women are now planning their next excursion.

“We were on a text chain today saying, ‘We need to all go to Katy’s concert! Which city can we go and when?’ That’s our next group activity.” 

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