This week’s Wednesday’s Women in STEM Series features Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in the world to go into outer space.  Ochoa served her first of four missions in 1993 on board the shuttle Discovery where she studied the ozone and conducted early research on climate change.  

Ochoa received her undergraduate degree in physics from San Diego State University her masters and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford.  Before being selected as a NASA astronaut in 1991, she worked as a researcher at the Sandia National Laboratories and the NASA Ames Research Center.  She studied optical systems for automated space exploration and is the co-inventor on three patents.  

In 1993 she became the first Hispanic woman to enter outer space aboard the shuttle Discovery.  Their mission was to study the Earth’s ozone layer.  She flew on three additional missions logging 40 days in space.  Upon retiring from space travel, she served as Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center.  In this role, she managed and directed the Astronaut Office and Aircraft Operations.  In 2013, Ochoa became the first Hispanic and second female director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center where she continued to served until this year.

Check out this fun video all about Ellen Ochoa and the work she did as an astronaut!