Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman in space. She flew to space four times between 1993 and 2002. Ochoa is an inventor and an engineer. She even played a flute in space! Ochoa was part of the first space shuttle crew to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).
Ochoa later became the director of the Johnson Space Center. She was the first Latina to have that top job. In 2024, Ochoa earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Then she answered questions from News-O-Matic readers!
Catalina: Hello, Dr. Ochoa! I’m from San Antonio and am also Latina! Did you like Selena Quintanilla Peréz? ¡Gracias!
Ochoa: I enjoyed visiting San Antonio when I lived in Houston. While I was aware of Selena’s fame, it came during the time that I was busy training for my first space shuttle missions. So, I was focused on my job!
Brynn: How is it to fly in a space suit?
Ochoa: There are two kinds of space suits. For launch and landing, astronauts use suits that protect us for certain emergencies during those parts. On the space shuttle, those suits were orange. Astronauts on a spacewalk wear a white space suit. That provides pressure, air to breathe, and temperature control. The pressure makes it difficult to move, but it’s imperative for the safety of the astronaut. I didn’t do any spacewalks. But I used the shuttle and ISS robotic arms to move around other astronauts outside the spacecraft.
Jiaxuan: How was your life in space?
Ochoa: I loved being in space. It was such a unique environment. And I was part of a team dedicated to exploration.
Jiaxuan: Is it important to learn math and physics to be an astronaut?
Ochoa: It’s important to study math and science. Math is used in all technical fields. Astronauts have different educational backgrounds; some studied chemistry, geology, biology, or engineering.
Jiaxuan: Did you ever face a difficult problem in a mission? If so, how did you solve it?
Ochoa: We train for all kinds of situations, so we are prepared for unplanned events. Fortunately, nothing serious happened during any of my flights. But there were lots of little issues. Our training prepared us to attack these problems calmly.
Yijia: How did your parents react when you told them about going to space?
Ochoa: My mom really enjoyed my NASA career! She was always interested in hearing about my training and my missions. She traveled to Florida to see each of my launches. (My dad wasn’t in contact with our family from the time I was 12.)
Jcooper20: Did you make a lot of money from being an astronaut?
Ochoa: NASA astronauts are government employees. So, we get U.S. government pay scales. What attracts people to an astronaut career are the opportunities to participate in discovery, be part of a team, and bring
back to people on Earth.
Logan: How’s it like in zero gravity? (I want to be an astronaut when I grow up!)
Ochoa: It’s unlike anything on Earth! Some things are easier, like moving heavy objects. Some things are harder, like trying to do repairs with tools that can float away. Some of it is just plain fun, like playing with your food or floating down the spacecraft!
Dai Tony: Can you tell me more about the life of astronauts? Space seems cool.
Ochoa: Astronauts spend most of their time on the ground. So, it’s important to like every aspect of human space flight — including planning and training. When in space, your days are busy with tasks like science experiments, repairing equipment, keeping the spacecraft clean, training, or performing spacewalks. One aspect I liked the best was the variety of things to learn.
Stella: Do astronauts get jet lagged like you do on an airplane? Thanks!
Ochoa: In space, astronauts stay on a 24-hour “day,” even though there is a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. There’s no jet lag with that. However, astronauts may need to sleep shift before flight to match their awake time to that of the launch time.
Owen: Why did you bring your flute to space, and how did it sound there?
Ochoa: I brought my flute as part of an educational video. We wanted to show that it was possible to do hobbies in space. Because the space shuttle had the same pressure as sea level on Earth, and the same gases, the sound was the same. The main difference was that I needed to keep my feet in loops on the floor so that I wouldn’t float around.
Aubrey: Should more Hispanic people go to space?
Ochoa: It’s important that all kinds of people get the opportunity to go to space. Because NASA astronauts have math and science backgrounds and Hispanics don’t go into those fields as often as other groups, we haven’t seen a lot of Hispanic people in space yet. I’ve tried to encourage underrepresented groups to study
so they can participate in fulfilling careers. I recently wrote bilingual children’s books introducing them to STEAM (STEM plus the Arts).
Addison: What can astronauts eat in space?
Ochoa: Today there is a wide variety of food, including more dishes with an international flavor. A lot of food is freeze-dried, so you must add water. And there’s snack food like granola bars, as well as tortillas which are handy for everything from breakfast burritos to peanut butter sandwiches.
Gabriel: How can I become astronaut?
Ochoa: It starts with getting a good education: taking math and science in high school (along with other courses); going to college and majoring in a technical field; and then pursuing a career you enjoy. Astronauts learn quickly and enjoy learning new things, have a solid technical background that they can apply to many tasks, and are good leaders and good followers.
Alicia: Hi! Is it lonely in space?
Ochoa: I wasn’t lonely. I was in a small space with the rest of my crew, and we interacted all day as we carried out our activities, whether it was science experiments or daily activities. In addition, we emailed with our family. Today on the ISS, crew members can call any phone number on Earth.
Eli: Are aliens real, and can anything live in space?
Ochoa: There’s not yet any evidence for life beyond Earth. But it’s possible — if not probable — that some kind of life exists elsewhere. Different spacecraft are looking for signs of life; it usually starts with determining if another planet has liquid water, conditions for organic molecules to form, and energy sources.
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
Updated September 13, 2024, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
