NASA’s Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina in space, talks education and inspiration

Hope and advice for young girls interested in science careers

Photo credit: NASA official photo. No restrictions on use.

Ellen Ochoa was 11 years old when humans first walked on the moon. In a 2019 TV interview, Ochoa said, “I never in a million years thought that I would be an astronaut or that I would meet in person any of those people.” When she was a child, women were not considered potential candidates for the NASA space program. Yet Ochoa has not only met Neil Armstrong, she has also been on four missions in space, spent almost 1,000 hours in orbit and helped construct the International Space Station.

Born to an immigrant family in Los Angeles, Ochoa fondly remembers her childhood. Her father’s side of the family was originally from Mexico, and her mother from Oklahoma. Both were convinced of the importance of education, and encouraged Ochoa and her siblings to study hard. “It must have been a very difficult decision for my grandparents who were Mexican to think about moving to a new country and starting a new life there,” she said in 2014, when she was deputy director of Johnson Space Center. 

Her warm memories of her family’s sacrifice and encouragement have prompted her to spread a positive message to young Latinos, especially girls. “If you work hard, if you’re enthusiastic and dedicated, then you can have a great career like mine,” she said. Ochoa is living proof of this motto, as her own educational accomplishments are nothing short of spectacular.

A graduate of Grossmont High School in La Mesa, California, she received a scholarship to San Diego State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in physics with honors. Shortly after, she obtained a fellowship at Stanford, where she earned a master’s degree in 1981, followed by a doctoral degree in electrical engineering. Two years later NASA recruited her for their space program, and that was only the beginning.

Ochoa was chosen to become assistant to the director of the International Space Station. Her assignments included managing flight software, maintaining computer hardware and utilizing onboard and outboard robotics. After accumulating over 950 hours in space, she was selected to be Mission Control’s spacecraft communicator. She continued her administrative career and became director of flight crew operations and, in 2013, was appointed director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. She is the first Hispanic person and the second woman to hold that prestigious post.

Ochoa is modest and considers herself indebted to her loving parents who were firm but encouraging, and to her teachers, who recognized her potential and encouraged her to take Advanced Placement science courses. She welcomes the attention she has received as the first Hispanic woman in the space program, and hopes that girls who are unsure about pursuing a science career will see her as an example of what they can accomplish. She has traveled to dozens of schools throughout the United States to give pep talks to students, with the message that enthusiasm, self-discipline and focused study can lead to remarkable success.

For her work with NASA, Ochoa received its highest award, the Exceptional Service Medal, as well as the Outstanding Leadership Medal. In May 2017, Ochoa was formally inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Besides her remarkable career as astronaut, scientist and engineer, she is also a classic flutist. She shares her love of music with her husband and two children at their home in Texas.