Ellen Ochoa
Ellen Ochoa
Ellen Ochoais an American engineer, former astronaut, and current Director of the Johnson Space Center. Ochoa became director of the center upon retirement of the previous director, Michael Coats, on December 31, 2012. Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman in the world to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAstronaut
Date of Birth10 May 1958
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
We are constantly emphasizing to people that they need to address anything that affects flight safety or mission success - many pathways to do that. We need to understand better what may be preventing people from using those pathways.
We are involved in technology development for, you know, missions that we hope to plan that would take us to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.
Well, with so many space shuttle missions that we've done, I think it's just sort of natural that each one hasn't necessarily gotten the attention that the early ones did.
I think of it as a good opportunity to let, in particular, school kids know that this job and other interesting jobs in science and engineering are open to anyone who works hard in school and gets a good education and studies math and science. And that it's not just for a select group of people.
I was born in 1958, the same year NASA was established, which I like to think of as not a coincidence. I was 11 when they landed on the moon, Apollo Eleven. And, of course, everybody in the whole world was watching that. But I can tell you, at that time, nobody ever asked a girl, 'Is that something you want to grow up and do?'
I'll tell you, being involved in human space flight, it is an emotional endeavor. I think it brings in the highest highs and the lowest lows.
It's fun to work the robotic arm in part because it's really a team effort.
I feel very privileged. But what I really hope for young people is that they find a career they’re passionate about, something that’s challenging and worthwhile.
Astronauts are very professional and when they're preparing for launch, they prepare for it as the most serious endeavor of our lives.
What everyone in the astronaut corps shares in common is not gender or ethnic background, but motivation, perseverance, and desire - the desire to participate in a voyage of discovery.
A hallmark of the Latino community is to help one another, if students are interested in a way to give back and help their communities, becoming a teacher is probably one of the very best ways of doing that.
I tell students that the opportunities I had were a result of having a good educational background. Education is what allows you to stand out.