First Mexican Woman To Go Into Space

Originally from Guadalajara, Katya Echazarreta, who is currently pursuing a master's degree in electrical engineering at John Hopskins University, will become the first Mexican-born woman to travel into space.

She will also be the youngest American to make a trip of this kind, as she will be included in the crew of the fifth special trip made by Blue Origin at the age of 26, as part of the citizen astronaut program sponsored by Space for Humanity.

The 26-year-old engineer, whose life embodies the famously longed-for American dream, arrived in the country at the age of seven while the lengthy immigration process at the time kept her away from her family for five years.

"My grandmother told me, 'remember, even though we are separated, we are under the same sky.' That message has always stuck with me and speaks to the potential power of the Perspective Effect, to understand that we are all connected on the same planet, facing the same challenges no matter where we are physically located," says the young woman, quoted on the Space for Humanity website.

In addition to working for more than four years at NASA, Katya was selected from more than 7,000 applicants from a total of nearly 100 countries. Her biggest social goal? to represent women and minorities interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

According to her LinkedIn bio: Katya works studying the forces at play behind electronic devices and components to protect signal integrity in low to high frequency board designs.

In addition, she is familiar with the physics behind electronics from the electron and hole level of components to multi-layer end-product board assemblies.

She notes that "her attention to detail and desire to always improve her skills fit perfectly with her career, which is based on hard work and meticulous thinking."

Echazarreta will experience the Perspective Effect herself, along with Correa Hespanha, 28, officially the second Brazilian to fly into space. A childhood dream she will fulfill with the help of Crypto Space Agency, a partnership that aims to ally the technology of the space industry with the financial power of cryptomarkets to drive innovation.

The new mission, Shepard NS-21, will also be composed of investor Evan Dick, pilot and president of Action Aviation Hamish Harding, Dream Variation Ventures co-founder Jaison Robinson and explorer and co-founder of private equity firm Insight Equity Victor Vescovo.