21 Facts About Katya Echazarreta

Katya Celeste Echazarreta Gonzalez was born on June 15,1995 and is a Mexican electrical engineer, science communicator, and Citizen Astronaut.

Katya Echazarreta became the first Mexican-born woman in space as part of Space for Humanity's Citizen Astronaut Program, launched June 4,2022.

Katya Echazarreta worked at NASA, first as an intern during her university undergraduate career, then later as a test lead for the Europa Clipper Ground Support Equipment group.

Katya Echazarreta has contributed to a total of five NASA missions.

Around 2019, Echazarreta began uploading engineering-related content to Instagram, later expanding her platforms to YouTube and TikTok.

Katya Echazarreta was the co-host of Netflix's YouTube series, Netflix IRL, while pursuing a Master's degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Katya Echazarreta was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico until the age of 8, after which her family moved to California, USA.

Katya Echazarreta had a difficult first few years, having to learn English while starting elementary school.

Katya Echazarreta transferred to UCLA in 2016, completing her Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 2019.

Katya Echazarreta is currently pursuing a Master's degree in electrical and computer engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

In 2017, Katya Echazarreta was a research assistant at UCLA for the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, where she experimented with various materials to serve as both the PCB and body of the robot while maintaining electrically isolated portions.

Katya Echazarreta later obtained an internship at NASA JPL for the summers of 2018 and 2019.

Katya Echazarreta transitioned to a full-time engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory as part of the Europa Clipper Ground Support Equipment group.

Katya Echazarreta began her television career as "Electric Kat" on a segment of Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove.

Katya Echazarreta is continuing with the show into its fourth season.

Katya Echazarreta is a co-host of Netflix's YouTube series, Netflix IRL.

The Space For Humanity initiative selected Katya Echazarreta to fly to space with Blue Origin NS-21 as a Space for Humanity Ambassador.

Katya Echazarreta has spoken to Mexico's congresses Senate of the Republic and Chamber of Deputies in support of increasing STEM education for women and expanding Mexico's spaceflight program.

Katya Echazarreta appeared on the October 2022 Vogue Mexico y Latinoamerica cover.

Katya Echazarreta presented a talk at Vogue Mexicos Forces of Fashion, discussing her experience with fashion not being fully welcome in STEM and how she is working to break down those stereotypes.

Katya Echazarreta was named one of Glamour Mexico y Latinoamericas 2022 Women of the Year.