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Diana Trujillo is a part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A part of the new recruits taken in during 2022, Trujillo is one of NASA’s newest flight directors.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Trujillo has a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland. She also studied at the University of Florida, Miami-Dade College, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, having a lot of schoolwork to that paved the way for the highly coveted position.
Trujillo was announced as this year’s newest class of NASA recruits. Per NASA, she and six other members completed a training program that includes “operational leadership and risk management, as well as the technical aspects of flight control and spacecraft systems.” Following that, Trujillo and her teammates will start leading human spaceflight missions from NASA’s historic control center in Houston.
“I am honored to welcome the flight director class of 2022. This diverse group brings with them an impressive body of experience flying the space station, launching rockets, driving Mars rovers, and developing interplanetary missions,” said acting NASA Chief Flight Director Emily Nelson. Trujillo is the only Latino to be a part of this new class of flight operators in NASA. While her previous experience includes working with rovers in Mars, she’s now in charge of change or people flying tothe moon. “I’m very sad to leave Mars but excited to go to the Moon,” she said laughing in an interview with Despierta America.
Trujillo is a part of the Artemis missions, which plan to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, exploring it in more depth than ever before, pushing science to new limits.
“My family is so proud. I couldn’t be here without my family’s support. i’m so proud to represent my country, and Latinos. There are other Latinos here who are flight operators and I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
When it comes to what inspires her and what keeps her going, she wants to give back and to inspire others. “I’m grateful to God for providing me with these opportunities. My way to give back is to inspire and serve others, especially young girls so they can come with us to Artemis and to explore more in the future.”
