Meet Katya Echazarreta

Katya Echazarreta obtained her B.S. in Electrical Engineering at UCLA where she received the prestigious Regents and Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarships. She began her career at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and has worked on 5 NASA missions including the Perseverance rover and Europa Clipper. She also received a full scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Katya has received two Honorary Doctorates for her humanitarian contributions to society as well as her contributions to technology. On June 4th, 2022, she became the first Mexican-born Woman in Space after being selected by Space for Humanity out of 7,000 applicants from over 120 countries for a mission to analyze the “Overview Effect”.

Throughout her journey in engineering school she was very aware about the lack of women in the field. Katya feels she has been given the opportunity to help guide those girls and women who are looking for someone with experience in what they are going through. She has been actively working to provide Space related opportunities for Latin America. In April of 2023 she was able to achieve majority vote in the Mexican congress for a constitutional reform which will allow congress to begin regulating the Space Industry. She is currently working on her foundation “Fundación Espacial Katya Echazarreta” which will support individuals interested in pursuing careers in the Space Industry.

Katya has been very active in the fashion world and has been on the cover of Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and others.