Dr. Ellen Ochoa is an accomplished engineer, former astronaut, and pioneering leader in space exploration. Born on May 10, 1958, in Los Angeles, California, Dr. Ochoa earned her bachelor’s degree in physics from San Diego State University and her master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Prior to joining NASA, Dr. Ochoa conducted pioneering research in optical systems for image processing and computer vision.
In 1993, she became the first Hispanic woman to travel to space, serving aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. During her NASA career, she logged nearly 1,000 hours in orbit during four space missions. Beyond her achievements as an astronaut, Dr. Ochoa made history again as the first Hispanic director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. There, she championed diversity, STEM education, and innovation in human spaceflight.
Question. What does it mean to you to be a role model for the Latino community through your historic achievements?
Answer. What’s really been wonderful over the last 30 years, is the opportunity that’s given to me to reach out to so many people. Certainly, when I was still at NASA as an astronaut, I spoke to many schools, and a lot of them were schools with high Hispanic enrollment, and I’m sure they really never seen anyone like me before. So, I was always excited to go there. And I’ve continued to do outreach ever since, speaking to a wide variety of audiences, but also doing podcasts, I’ve written some children’s bilingual board books on science and engineering. I’ve just had all these different ways of being able to reach out to get kids to think about science and engineering, STEM careers, or even just setting a high goal for themselves, no matter what they are interested in. And that’s been hugely rewarding.
Q. How has being Latina influenced your career and how you faced these challenges?
A. I always have to think about the people who came before me that helped make it possible for me to take this role. When I was in undergrad in college, NASA selected the first women astronauts and the first astronauts of color. That was a huge milestone that was due to all the people in the women’s rights movement in the 1970s. And even going back much further, we see that they also fought for women’s right to vote. And without all of that happening, the government wouldn’t have opened up jobs to women, including astronauts. So going forward from the time that I flew in space, I’ve been able to have an effect and continue down that path, hopefully giving inspiration to lots of people. I feel like I’m just one in a long line of people who have had the opportunity to try to get the same kind of rights for everybody that previously didn’t have them.
Q. Have you ever encountered people who thanked you for making their path easier?
A. Absolutely! It’s always really rewarding when someone comes up to me and says, “When I was in school, I read about you and was inspired to study science and engineering. Especially when I know how role models made a big impression on me. Sally Ride flew when I was in the middle of getting my Ph.D., and that made a huge difference. Seeing her in space and learning that she had been a physics major and attended Stanford, where I was working on my doctorate, helped me to see all those things we had in common, and think, ”Well, maybe this is something that I could do, too.”
Q. Of all the notable milestones in your career, which moments filled you with the most pride?
A. Obviously, all of my spaceflights. And one thing I’m thinking about, because it is in just a couple of weeks, is a milestone associated with the International Space Station, where they will mark 25 years of continuous habitation onboard the station by astronauts. I was on two flights that were part of the assembly of the station. For a while, I worked in the astronaut office as the astronaut who was leading up support from the astronaut office to the space station program. I made a number of trips to Russia, working out protocols about how we would train crews, how we would select crews. Now, to see it still going strong after 25 years, not only with the original five international space agencies representing 15 countries, but more than 100 countries have been involved in some way, either with scientists who have had experiments on board or with educational activities. It really grew into something that I think surpassed what we were even thinking about when we were working on it.
Q. The We Are All Human gala honored on October 30 for your leadership and contributions. What does receiving this recognition mean to you?
A. It kind of came out of the blue. The event celebrates and recognizes the contributions of Hispanics in the U.S., such as economic progress, innovation, and culture. I’m very proud to be recognized.
Q. In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, a new Barbie Inspiring Women doll has been introduced in your honor. What was your reaction when you found out that you were going to have your own Barbie doll?
A. That was another thing that came out of the blue and surprised me. About a year ago, Mattel, the Barbie line, contacted me. They described a series called Inspiring Women. They had already made about 20 other dolls in the series, including historical figures like Susan B. Anthony and Amelia Earhart. They worked with me throughout the year on the doll, including what I would wear. They really wanted to focus on my first flight into space. That’s why I’m wearing the orange launch and entry suit.
Q. How would you like to be remembered?
A. First of all, everything we do at NASA is a team effort. I always tell students that to be a good astronaut, you have to be good at teamwork. I hope people realize that I was only able to accomplish what I did at NASA because of the great team around me. This was certainly true when I was director of the Johnson Space Center. Ultimately, I hope people understand that with hard work, determination, and support, the sky’s not the limit.
Q. What advice would you give to young Latinas who dream of pursuing a career like yours?
A. I would say, “We need you.” We need all the bright minds we can get, as well as people who are interested, motivated, and willing to work hard. It’s important to keep at it. I think what really helped me was finding my own personal supporters. For every professor who discouraged me, there was another one who supported and encouraged me and told me to keep at it. I always had people like that, which really helped, particularly when I ran into people who didn’t think women or Latinos should be doing what I wanted to do.
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