Avenger of the Week | Dr. Ellen Ochoa

Our Avenger of the Week, Ellen Ochoa, PhD, is out of this world, sometimes literally. She developed several of the NASA systems used in space flights before becoming the first Hispanic woman astronaut in 1990, and she later became the first Hispanic head of the Johnson Space Center 2006.

Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, payload commander, on the Space Shuttle Atlantis' aft flight deck on November 14, 1994.

Ochoa was born in Los Angeles in 1958, graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Physics, and received her masters and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Joining NASA in 1988 as a research engineer, she investigated optical systems and co-authored three patents in robotics and optics. After being selected as an astronaut, she logged nearly1000 hours in space on four missions starting with the Discovery Space Shuttle in 1993.

Ochoa credits her mother for her love of learning and was inspired when Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983. An advocate for women in science as role models in schools and a  member of the President’s Commission on Women in American History, Ochoa now has six schools named after her:

“I hope to continue to inspire our nation’s youth to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math so they, too, may reach for the stars.”

Johnson Space Center official portrait of Director Ellen Ochoa, 2014

Ochoa retired as the Johnson Space Center director in 2018. She has received NASA’s highest honor,  the Distinguished Service Medal, as well as the Exceptional Service Medal, Outstanding Leadership Medal, and four Space Flight Medals. She also won both the Harvard Foundation Science Award and the Women in Aerospace Outstanding Achievement Award. This year, she was selected to receive the 2020 National Space Trophy by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) because “Dr. Ellen Ochoa has distinguished herself as a champion for space exploration and scientific discovery through her dedicated service to NASA and to our nation.” She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and is on the Board of a number of other professional scientific associations.  

When some of us are understandably feeling like we would prefer to be on another planet right now, we celebrate a woman who literally made her name in space, Dr. Ellen Ochoa.

Let's hear it for Avenger Ellen Ochoa!

The @GenderAvenger #AvengerOfTheWeek is the @Astro_Ellen, 1st Hispanic woman in space and @NASA_Johnson director. “I hope…to inspire…youth…in science, technology, engineering, and math so they, too, may reach for the stars.” #STEM #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-dr-ellen-ochoa