Suggested Searches

1 min read

Ellen Ochoa Shakes Hands with First Humanoid Robot to Head to Station

Ellen Ochoa (left) shakes hands with Robonaut 2 in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility.
Then-NASA Johnson Space Center deputy director Ellen Ochoa poses for a photo with Robonaut 2 (R2) during media day in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility on Aug. 4, 2010.

Then-NASA Johnson Space Center deputy director Ellen Ochoa poses for a photo with Robonaut 2 (R2) during media day in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility on Aug. 4, 2010. R2 hitched a ride to the International Space Station with the STS-133. It was the first humanoid robot to travel to space and the first U.S.-built robot to visit the station. R2 will stay on the space station indefinitely to allow engineers on the ground to learn more about how humanoid robots fare in microgravity.

Ochoa became Johnson Center director in 2012 and retired from that position in 2018. She is veteran of four space shuttle flights and holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford.

#HispanicHeritageMonth

Image Credit: NASA