SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The first Mexican-born woman in space also has strong San Diego ties. Katya Echazarreta's flight aboard a Blue Origin capsule was just the beginning of an international journey to inspire young people all over the world to get into the space industry.
ABC 10News anchor Lindsey Peña first talked to the ground-breaking astronaut after she made history. Lindsey followed through to find out what she's accomplished since and learn about the incredibly important mission she's about to embark on.
The last time we saw Echazarreta, she had just returned from her history-making trip to space.
Her flight aboard a Blue Origin vessel as a Space for Humanity Citizen astronaut in 2022 made her the first Mexican-born woman to go the final frontier.
- PREVIOUS COVERAGE: First Mexican-born woman in space sits down with ABC 10News
It was the trip of a lifetime, and the realization of a longtime dream. It was also the beginning of a whirlwind journey that included international speaking engagements, appearances on TV shows, gracing the cover of Mexican Vogue and even getting her very own Barbie doll.
But perhaps most importantly, it inspired her to start her own nonprofit.
"I decided to create an organization called Fundación Espacial. And with this organization, we really aim to develop and create these different opportunities for people who want to be a part of this space industry, but either have never had access to opportunities within their home country or within their local communities, or simply don't even know what is out there and are afraid of not being welcomed," Echazarreta says.
Last year, her foundation hosted its first-ever camps for students in her home country of Mexico.
"For this first edition, we had these camps in Guadalajara, which is where I was born," she says. "And the students live a week-long experience where they learn about what it is to be a part of this space industry."
Echazarreta says she's making sure students and their families never have to worry about how to pay for the experience.
"The most exciting part is that all of these students received 100% scholarships for this... We had access to a flight simulator that is used to train real commercial pilots. We had nutrition. We had psychology for space. We had physical training," she says. "It was just all the different things that we did and it was just such an incredible experience and all of that comes down to the last day, where they essentially live a simulated mission to a different body in space. Last year, we had Mars. Next year, it'll be a different theme."
Next year, the camps will be open to students from even more Latin American countries, with the hope of inspiring as many young people from all over the world as possible.
Meanwhile, Echazarreta is preparing for another major role: Being a mother.
She and her husband are expecting their first child this December.
"And I think it's been really exciting to also put everything into perspective of everything we've been working on to build," she says. "I've been working for others and for other people, for other children, and to be able to realize that my own child is gonna be able to benefit from the work that I've done is something that just continues to inspire me as well every day."
