Electrical Engineer Becomes The First Mexican-Born Woman To Travel To Space

An electrical engineer from Guadalajara, Mexico, became the first Mexican-born woman to travel to space last week.

Katya Echazarreta, 26, along with Victor Vescovo, Jaison Robinson, Victor Correa Hespanha, Hamish Harding, and Evan Dick, traveled to space on the New Shepard rocket, built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin aerospace company.

Once the New Shepard left its launch pad in West Texas, the rocket reached the edge of space in five minutes, with all six passengers experiencing zero gravity. The rocket then descended to the ground through its built-in parachute near Van Horn, Texas, according to The San Diego-Union Tribune. 

Echazarreta, whose trip was sponsored by the non-profit organization Space for Humanity, was chosen out of 7,000 applicants from more than 100 countries to be a part of the historic trip, according to The Associated Press. 

There have also been fewer than 80 women and fewer than three dozen Black, indigenous, or Latino individuals who have traveled to space, as reported by NBC News.

The 26-year-old is a former intern at NASA, where she worked on five missions before her space trip.

After her flight, Echazerreta thanked her husband and family on Instagram for assisting in her journey into space.

Echazerreta received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from UCLA, and she’s currently working toward obtaining her master’s degree in electrical engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

HuffPost reached out to Echazarreta but did not hear back in time for publication.