¡Oye! NASA Picks First Cuban American Astronaut

Serena Maria Auñón is NASA’s first Cuban-American astronaut.

 

Chosen from a list of more than 3,500 qualified candidates, Serena Maria Auñón is NASA’s first Cuban-American astronaut.

 

The 33-year-old Auñón, who was selected last month along with eight other astronauts for the next several space missions, credits her father for her discipline and dedication, according to CBS4 news partners The Miami Herald. The astronaut said her father arrived in the U.S. on October 24th, 1960 penniless. She said he made many sacrifices and worked hard to eventually become a dean of engineering at the University of Alabama at Huntsville .

 

Auñón, who now calls League City, Texas home, said she and her three sisters grew up listening to stories about Cuba and followed the Cuban traditions their father taught them.

 

While going through medical school Auñón, who said she knew she wanted to work for NASA, discovered that the University ofTexas Medical Branch in Galveston , Texas offered a combined residency program in Internal Medicine and Aerospace Medicine.

After spending six 6 years at UTMB, she was hired as a flight surgeon serving NASA. Auñón spent several months in Russia supporting ISS crews during their training. She said during her time there she learned what an astronaut’s life would be like while training for long-duration missions aboard ISS.