Research in Orbit
Ellen Ochoa enjoys doing so many things that she had a difficult time deciding what career to choose. She chose physics, because she likes math and with physics she can use her math skills to understand and explain the physical world. In graduate school, she earned two degrees in electrical engineering. After school, Dr. Ochoa went to work for NASA, developing optical recognition systems, computer hardware, and robots. An inventor, she holds three patents for devices that help scientists filter (refine) images that come from space.
When she was 33 years old, Dr. Ochoa became an astronaut, the first Hispanic woman to do so. She has spent 484 hours in space on two flights, the 1993 ATLAS-2 and the 1994 ATLAS-3 shuttle missions (ATLAS stands for Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science). On her missions, she has used a robotic arm to capture satellites, conducted experiments about the atmosphere and, and studied the sun's energy cycles.
In her spare time, Dr. Ochoa plays the flute, bicycles, flies small planes, and plays volleyball! She has received many honors, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Medallion of Excellence (in 1993) and the Women in Science and Engineering's Engineering Achievement Award (in 1994). Dr. Ochoa believes that hard work, motivation, and persistence, as well as support from her parents, helped her succeed in work and school.
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All text and images © Smithsonian Institution. Updated 3 March 2005.