Her mother, a relatively low-income earner in Louisville, Kentucky, shared her love of learning and space. Today Tracy is exploring Jupiter.
The daughter of immigrants from Mexico, today Ana manages digital communications to and from missions into deep space.
Heidi was one of the 'boat people' from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon and lived for a year in a refugee camp in Indonesia. Now she provides financial and administrative support for all of JPL’s missions.
Born in Brazil, Jackie is a senior engineer specializing in temperature control and systems engineering. She has played a key role in most of JPL's critical missions.
Jordana is leading JPL in the development of next-generation instruments for the study of other planets, asteroids and comets.
During her childhood, Lisa's mother always encouraged her to get out of Las Vegas and do more. Today Lisa provides critical support to JPL's missions.
Melanie escaped Vietnam as a child, with only her two brothers, on a boat with 2,600 refugees. Rescued by the Red Cross, she was sponsored by an American family. Today she is an IT Manager at JPL.
Raised in Burma with few amenities, MiMi came to the U.S. by herself at 16 for access to education. Today she is leading the project to develop a Mars helicopter technology demonstration, an entirely new type of space flight.
With a doctorate from Stanford, Polly is an expert in deep space and satellite communication systems. She has led development teams for the telecom systems for the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.
Born in Brazil and educated in London, Rosaly is in the Guinness World Book of Records for having discovered 71 active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io.
One of the 'human computers' in 1958, Sue has been there from the virtual beginnings of the space program. Her experience makes her an invaluable test engineer.
She came to the U.S. from Armenia in the 10th grade, speaking no English. Today Taguhi helps to ensure that we do not transfer microbes to other planets and other systems, and vice versa.
As a child in Cambodia, she watched the moon landing and decided to work in the space program. She endured the tragedies of having her father and most of her male relatives killed by the Khmer Rouge.
