WEBVTT - Latinos Persevering 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:04.000 This is Latino USA, the radio journal of News and 0:00:04.160 --> 0:00:05.440 courtur Latino US. 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:07.480 Latin Latino USA. 0:00:07.720 --> 0:00:11.320 I'm Maria Inojosa. We bring you stories that are underreported 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:14.120 but that mattered to you, overlooked by the rest of 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:14.840 the media. 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:16.920 And while the country is struggling to deal with these, we. 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:19.960 Listen to the stories of Black and Latino Studio United 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:24.919 Latino Front, a cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:32.640 the movement. I'm Maria Inojosa, Lan Latino USA. Listener, Hope 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:36.479 you're having a good one. Here's a show from the archives. 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:45.400 Eight seven, six, five five for engine Ignition two one zero. 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:48.600 Relate and lift off. 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:53.760 As the countdowns cars continues the Perseverance of humanity launching 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.720 the next generation of robotic explorers to the Red Planet. 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:06.440 From Fudromidia and RX. It's Latino USA. I'm Mariano Rosa. 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:09.200 Today we meet some of the Latinos working on the 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:19.959 twenty twenty historic Perseverance mission to Mars. It's been about 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:25.000 forty five years since the first US spacecraft landed safely 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:29.160 on Mars. Since then, there have been several other missions 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.880 to the Red Planet, each one building off of the 0:01:31.920 --> 0:01:36.440 other and getting us to where we are today Perseverance. 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.479 After the Rover Curiosity landed on Mars eight years ago, 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:44.640 it confirmed the Red planet once could have supported life. 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:48.920 Perseverance will try to find definitive proof catch. 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:54.000 Out confirmed Perseverance safely on the sefith of Mars. 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.640 The Rover left Earth last July and traveled almost three 0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:03.640 hundred million miles across space to its destination, the Red Planet. 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:06.800 And on today's episode, you're going to hear from some 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:11.280 of the Latinos and Latinas whose own perseverance made this 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:14.800 mission possible. People like Dianna Trujillo. 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:19.799 The night before always were empty and I am setting 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:24.000 up thinking about, you know, having the biggest night of 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:27.880 my career. On the next morning, on getting ready. 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.520 For it, Christina Ernandez. 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:33.959 I woke up super early because I could not sleep 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:38.760 at all in the anticipation of landing on Mars. I 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:41.560 was one of the people who was actually supporting remotely 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:45.320 from home. So because of the pandemic, a large majority 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.200 of our team is actually working remotely. 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:49.680 Elio Morigo. 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.560 The moment we landed, we were just you know, throwing 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:57.840 our arms up. It was super emotional because after so 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.800 many years, our baby was fine only on the surface 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:03.360 of Mars, ready to get on with the science mission. 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:09.040 And Alejandro Miguel San Martin, who went viral after his 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:13.040 daughter shared with the world Alejandro's reaction to the moment 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:15.760 when Perseverance landed on Mars. 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:28.840 Table being at home, my wife next to me, I 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.840 was more free to actually be part of the experience 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:35.400 than in the previous for landings that I was in 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.880 the control room in a more bridgie settings, because you're 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:42.080 doing a job, and so I think that's also play 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:46.280 a role in my being able to celebrate the great 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:48.240 success of Perseverance landing. 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:58.080 Year's producer Reinaldo Leanos Junior bringing us their stories. 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:04.960 Diana tru Hill was working late at NASA's JPL Jet 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:10.160 Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the night before the Perseverance 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:13.840 rover would finally touch down on the surface of Mars. 0:04:14.440 --> 0:04:17.440 That night, I think it was not only reflecting on that, 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:22.320 reflecting also oman family and understanding how far we have 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:26.920 gotten us humanity and recognizing that everybody is going to 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:30.000 get to see what we're about to do on Mars. 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:33.840 As flight director for the rover, Deanna knew that in 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:36.800 just a couple of hours should be a part of history. 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:42.240 I was setting up and getting ready for the first 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:45.880 Spanish language landing broadcast and NASA has done for a 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:55.520 planetary mission, Perseverance. 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.200 Deanna would lead this broadcast and give a play by 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:06.600 play as the rover inch closer and closer to landing. 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:10.440 The idea for a Spanish language broadcast came to her 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:13.479 when she was working on another Mars mission about a 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:15.480 decade ago, Curiosity. 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.440 It came to my mind, maybe like a week or 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:22.279 a few days before Curiosity landed in twenty twelve. But 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:24.800 since then I've been, you know, going to the media 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:29.000 office periodically every time there's a major mission happening, like hey, 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:30.719 we should do this in Spanish, Hey we should do 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:34.040 this in Spanish and yeah, So right before Perseverance started, 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:37.160 I mentioned it again and consistently, I feel like for 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.080 seven years, and then they said yes, So. 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:47.720 Idiana trojijoa, studijando director Deuelo, the Superficia, the Perseverance. 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:49.240 But oh thank god. 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:56.360 Pre program my nest Panol de la Nasa Planetario bien venils. 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:01.360 Throughout nearly two hours of broadcast, Deanna several guests by 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.839 virtually like Lola and Abby from Sestime Street. 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:05.440 Oh. 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:10.160 Ona Is the Lisa C. 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:16.200 Mascalistas see Lola Estadosperandusi Momento. 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:28.960 And Colombian artist Juanzolissa. Journalists Ramos and Maria, Elena Salinas 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:33.280 and others also made an appearance. Just before one pm 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:42.680 Pacific time on February eighteenth, Perseverance landed on mars Emo Perceeo. 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.320 Takewaymorrow. 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:52.760 The video of the Spanish broadcast, which they called Junto Samos, 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:56.440 has more than two point six million views on YouTube. 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:58.600 Our culture showed up to it. 0:06:58.800 --> 0:06:58.920 Right. 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:01.960 It wasn't like please come, It was the other way, 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:04.760 which was thank you for having it in Spanish. We 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:07.880 wanted to hear it. We have always been here, but 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:10.320 you know, nobody was talking to us. So now somebody's 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:11.760 talking to us, and that's great. 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.720 Her family in the US and abroad also tuned in. 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:20.920 I'm from Colombia in my country on the public channel, 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:25.200 they broadcasted it, so my grandma saw it and she 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:27.280 was super excited. She was actually on the phone with 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:31.360 my mom, my kids, my husband, my mom. They're all 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.440 watching it on TV at home while I'm at the office. 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:35.320 Dan. 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:38.520 I was glad her family watched, but even more excited 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.040 that they were part of this collective experience. 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.040 I'm sure that if he hadn't been the pandemic, and 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:47.160 you know, I love my culture and everything. I feel 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:50.160 like we would have pull up the TV outside everybody 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:52.160 will have you on the street. People will be like 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:54.840 watch this, and like all the neighbors would have opened 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:57.840 the doors, Like I could see that happening on my 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:00.720 country and even on my own street right where everybody 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.200 just unites for a single thing that is happening with 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:05.400 a lot of pride because we're part of it. 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:12.000 The road to NASA has been a long one for Vienna, 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:16.040 but she remembers different times throughout her life that space 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.680 found its way to her. The first time was when 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.360 she was a little girl and her parents were getting 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:25.760 a divorce. As she felt that everything around her was 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.320 falling off, the stars in the night sky held her up. 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.719 That's when space came in for me, because I think 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.200 that it was just more of like an escape kind 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:38.719 of like now as an adult, you know, you have 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:40.720 a bad day and you go out for a walk 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:42.520 and you look at the stars and you're like, Okay, 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.439 I got my moment of I'm calm. Now, that's the 0:08:45.480 --> 0:08:47.360 same it was for me when I was a little girl, 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:50.679 So thinking about the stars, looking at how awesome that is, 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:54.959 and then as you're in that zone of peace, recognizing that, 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:58.319 my god, somebody actually walked on the moon, which is 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:01.240 insane and I am so far from that and there's 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:03.439 no way I will ever do that and it's not 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.000 going to happen. But how cool would it be to 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:11.400 understand how that works? Because somehow the sky figure out 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:15.680 how to make it all work, and we haven't on Earth. 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:19.000 It was the women Indiana's life who would make her 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:22.280 aware of her true potential. On frequent visits to her 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:25.280 grandmother's house, who lived just the block away from her, 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:27.880 she would sit on the floor and listen to her 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:32.000 Abuela Diaz and cousins talk about everything. 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:33.839 Oh, my husband did this, You're not gonna be leave that. 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:37.800 It was kind of like they were coming together to 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:41.199 share with each other the stories of what had occurred 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:45.040 to them on that week. There was this beautiful thing 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:49.319 where there was a community of women. They were just 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:51.920 helping each other, and it was almost like this is 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:54.599 happening to me, Is this happening to you? 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:58.840 Or how did you handle this, Danna says, is coming 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:02.439 together of women was essential for her to recognize that 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:05.920 everyone has problems, that there is always a way out. 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:10.040 Those problems, in many cases were very similar to each other. 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:12.439 I can do this, I can do that, or I 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:14.719 don't have this, or I don't have that, and a 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:16.439 lot of the I can do this, I can do 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:22.520 that were related to the relationship where your significant other 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:26.559 and the backing down from what you wanted out of 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:32.280 in some level, fear fear of it's all to my partner. 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:36.079 I give everything to my partner. But what about you, Like, 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:39.440 when are you going to think about for one moment, 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:41.600 this is what I want to do, this is how 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:42.240 I want to do it. 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:47.000 She started to wonder what about her, what were her 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:48.640 goals and really. 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.760 What that to me translated after a while through the 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:56.160 years was mainly that my grandma didn't finish middle school 0:10:56.480 --> 0:11:01.719 because of concerns from her significant other completely education. My 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:05.000 mom also took a long time to even complete her 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:08.240 degree because she was supporting my dad. 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.559 But her mom and grandma wanted Diana's life to be different. 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:16.920 With high hopes and expectations for her. They had officially 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:18.800 named her Lady Danna. 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:22.400 Part of my understanding from my grandma and choosing the 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:26.559 name is you don't come second, you come first because 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:28.920 you're our princess of the house and we want you 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.120 to do so great. And so they tried everything from 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:36.720 the name to the environment to protect me and build 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:38.760 me in a way that I could see that I 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:40.160 could do anything I wanted. 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:43.920 Danna eventually moved to the US when she was seventeen 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:48.079 years old. She knew she wanted to pursue something challenging. 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.079 I have to do something hard. I have to do 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:54.960 something that sends the message internally to my family really 0:11:55.080 --> 0:12:00.040 that women do add value, that women have value and 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:04.960 we can contribute as much as another person or more. 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:08.280 So when I got here at that, how do I 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:11.040 help the men and my family recognize that. 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:14.800 She knew being an astronaut was one of the hardest 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:18.199 things someone could do, so she started to explore the 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:21.959 career paths of other astronauts and discovered several of them 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:27.760 were aerospace engineers. That eventually led her to NASA JPL, 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:31.439 where she's had many hats. As the Mars mission has evolved. 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.440 These days, Danna and her colleagues work around the clock 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:37.760 to make sure everything's okay on Mars. 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:40.800 A way of actually picturing this in my mind is 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.520 like you're walking through a house and you're turning every 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:46.400 single light, making sure that every light bulb warks, and 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:48.000 then nothing has actually burned. 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.559 She says. The rover has a schedule like you and I. 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:54.640 In our case, you know, you put your alarm at 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:58.720 not six am. The rover has an alarm at nine am, 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:03.640 and so the wakes up at nine am to listen 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:07.520 to the commands of the day, which includes commanding everything 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:11.160 from moving the arm, taking images, doing any type of 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:17.640 instrument activity, driving. But the rover just like it's exactly 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:19.319 like you and I. Right at some point it's like 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:22.760 I need to recharge my batteries, and so we put 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:23.440 it to sleep. 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.680 Deanna says the days on Earth and Mars are different, 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:32.199 so sometimes they'll start at midnight and maybe another day 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.960 they'll start at three am or ten am. It just varies, 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:38.800 and while she plans to continue to be part of 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:41.960 the Mars mission, Deanna has not given up on her 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:44.320 original goal to become an astronaut. 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:49.839 If the opportunity way to come, I will certainly go 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:52.160 right if you were to ask me right now, Hey, 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:54.439 there's an open spot you want to go or not. 0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:56.920 I was like, yeah, let's do it, Like there's no 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:01.520 let me go think about it, let me consult. Nope, 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:03.920 it's like, oh yeah, I already have my list of 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:05.040 what I will pack done. 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:18.640 Coming up on Latino USA, we'll hear more from Latinos 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.600 and Latinas who helped make this recent mission to Mars possible, 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:25.800 and they're going to share some inspirational words for any 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:28.560 of you who are thinking about a career in NASA, 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:33.400 the Moon, the Stars, stem Mars. Stay with us, don't 0:14:33.440 --> 0:15:33.640 stay like us. Hey we're back and let's get back 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:37.280 to some of the Latinos and Latinas who recently helped 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:42.000 send a rover to Mars. Producer Ronaldo Leans Junior once 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:43.720 again picks up the story from here. 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:49.880 In the lead up to the rover landing, part of 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:53.400 the Mars team worked on the rover itself, and others 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:58.920 worked hard on designing, building, and testing scientific instruments that 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:04.760 are part of Perseverance. One of those instruments is named Sherlock, 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:06.000 which is. 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:10.320 An ultra violet spectrometer and it has a companion called Watson. 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.320 We love our cute names. Watson is a camera that. 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:17.920 Is Christina Hernandez, a payload system engineer. She worked on 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:22.640 two scientific instruments. One that was developed in Spain called Meta. 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.120 Which is a weather station that has sensors throughout the 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:29.800 vehicle and is going to help us understand temperature, humidity, 0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:31.960 and even the dust that we have at Mars. 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:36.360 And one made in Norway called Rimfax, which is. 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:40.200 A ground penetrating radar that as the rover is traversing 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:44.600 and trekking along the Martian surface, Rimfax is going to 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:47.080 be able to image what's underneath. 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:53.000 Working with teams based outside the US forced Christina to 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:54.640 adapt to their clocks. 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:56.520 And so I would have to get up at like 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:00.520 five am for six am seven am design meetings with 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.600 the team. Early on it was lots of meetings, lots 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:06.280 of design, lots of like you know, big picture thinking, 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:09.440 how are we going to do this? And about a 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:13.760 year and a half from launch it got to my 0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:18.320 favorite part, where you start testing and building hardware and 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:23.200 seeing how it's working and fighting fires and troubleshooting. That's 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:25.919 the fun stuff, right You're in the in the tests 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:29.000 in the lab till like three in the morning, figuring 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:32.439 out these problems that have come up that you didn't 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:32.920 prepare for. 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.359 But Christina wasn't always the type of person who liked 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:41.080 to break and take things apart. 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:44.320 I didn't grow up being a tinker, you know. I 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:47.159 wasn't taking apart, you know, remotes and things like that. 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:51.680 I explored through turning a page in a book. I 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:55.560 loved reading. I loved sign fiction. And I remember seeing, 0:17:56.200 --> 0:18:00.200 you know, pictures from Saturn that Cassini actually took, and 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:03.200 I asked myself, I was like, Wow, how do I 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:06.560 take a picture of something that's so far away, so 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.359 far out of my perspective and my reality. 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:13.280 Christina realized that she wanted to be someone who helps 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:17.720 answer those questions that are fundamental to being human, like 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:21.040 why are we here? And what else is out there? 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:26.040 I wanted to be an engineer that helped enable science, 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:28.320 and I really feel that's what I get to do 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.760 every single day as this payload systems engineer, which is 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:37.240 really just a fancy title for somebody who helps develop 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:40.280 the tools and the science instruments that we take to 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:43.600 go explore and answer these fundamental questions. 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:50.800 The first time Christina heard about NASA's JPL was through 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.600 a show called Nova on PBS. She learned that it 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:58.040 was at JPL where some of these engineers made missions 0:18:58.119 --> 0:18:59.639 in space a reality. 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:04.520 My mom was such a supporter of taking me to 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.679 the library, taking me to museums because we couldn't afford 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:12.239 space camp, so my mother sought out opportunities that were 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:16.200 accessible to us, and one of those was JPL's open House. 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:22.280 I just came away with the feeling of this place's 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:26.600 Disneyland for nerds. You're walking around open house and these 0:19:26.680 --> 0:19:31.840 engineers are driving small robots over kids. They're bringing out 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:35.280 our larger robots from the Mars yard and showcasing them. 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:39.760 I just never realized that there was a place where 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:41.560 science fiction meets reality. 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:48.240 When Christina was an elementary school, her dad, an electrical technician, 0:19:48.680 --> 0:19:51.120 was studying to be an electrical engineer. 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:54.840 My dad would always take me everywhere with him. He 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:58.399 would take me to the facilities, and I just specifically 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:01.720 remember cal State, LA. There was a couple of you know, 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:04.960 electrical centers that he would go and check in and repair, 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:08.600 and I would see his toolkit, all of his meters 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:11.639 where he's you know, checking on the equipment, and I 0:20:11.760 --> 0:20:16.920 started to connect you know math and science to dad, 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:19.760 I really started to make the connection of Oh, like, 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:22.200 my dad's going to be an engineer. He's going to 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:24.240 help in this endeavor. 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:25.080 Of what I see on TV. 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:28.280 She started to realize that if she wanted to make 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:32.760 science fiction happen, she needed to focus on engineering, which 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:37.040 eventually led her to NASA's JPL. A few years ago, 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:41.040 she took her parents and Abuilos, a Mexican immigrants, for 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:45.560 a visit to JPL. While touring the laboratory, her grandmother 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:48.800 told Christina a story she had never heard before. 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:54.480 There was a moment when they got picked up by immigration, 0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:58.920 and my grandmother tells me that when they were on 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:02.400 their way to the immigrant center, on the radio, they 0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:07.200 were celebrating something with the Apollo astronauts. This was like 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:08.320 back in the seventies. 0:21:08.720 --> 0:21:08.879 You know. 0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:11.919 My grandmother just vividly remembers that moment, you know, when 0:21:12.040 --> 0:21:16.520 she was thinking about, oh, there's people who are exploring space. 0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:21.200 Suddenly Christina realized how far she'd made it. 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:24.879 When I heard that story, I got very emotional because 0:21:24.920 --> 0:21:29.040 I it was that moment where you realize what a 0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:32.199 privilege it can be to be working for a NASSA 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:35.840 to be having your dream job. And it really started 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:40.960 with my grandparents and my parents setting this foundation of 0:21:41.560 --> 0:21:46.080 coming to this country for greater opportunity and pushing forward 0:21:46.280 --> 0:21:48.200 no matter what the obstacles were. 0:21:51.200 --> 0:21:55.000 When perseverance made it to Mars, Christina's grandmother took her 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:59.520 granddaughter's contributions to the mission as also part of her own. 0:22:00.200 --> 0:22:02.840 In the moment of landing, you know, what she had 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:05.840 said is that yo yah yah, yeah Marte, because her 0:22:05.960 --> 0:22:09.119 granddaughter had gotten there, and it was it was very 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:14.840 special because we are here because of our families, because 0:22:14.960 --> 0:22:17.960 they supported us with whatever. 0:22:17.720 --> 0:22:18.520 Means they had. 0:22:19.040 --> 0:22:22.600 It's the foundation and the path that the explorers and 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:25.200 my family paved for me to be here. 0:22:34.160 --> 0:22:38.560 For Ecuador born Eleo Morio, a systems test bet engineer 0:22:38.680 --> 0:22:42.560 at NASA JPL, it was his mom who was his foundation. 0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:46.399 My mom the entire time. You know, she was an 0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:51.360 ecuador She had almost nearly a twenty plus year career 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:54.040 as a teacher. You know, she reached the heights of 0:22:54.240 --> 0:22:57.600 her career. She was a principal, She was known across 0:22:58.080 --> 0:23:01.040 you know, the whole area for academics and such. 0:23:01.880 --> 0:23:05.199 Then in the nineties, things started to change. 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:08.399 The banking system kind of collapsed, and this is around 0:23:08.400 --> 0:23:11.320 the time where Ecuador gets dollarized. My mom knew that 0:23:11.400 --> 0:23:14.680 the situation could potentially get dire, and we had some 0:23:14.840 --> 0:23:18.159 family at the time or over several years had already 0:23:18.240 --> 0:23:21.879 moved to New York City, which included my grandparents and 0:23:22.000 --> 0:23:25.280 some aunts and uncles. So we got fortunate in the 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:30.640 sense that my grandpa requested us through the green card 0:23:30.720 --> 0:23:33.040 process and we got our green cards. 0:23:33.720 --> 0:23:37.040 So Eleo and his mom packed up and left for 0:23:37.200 --> 0:23:44.359 New York. Ellio's older brother, seventeen years his senior, moved 0:23:44.400 --> 0:23:46.520 to New York before Elio was born. 0:23:47.160 --> 0:23:50.280 I can't imagine putting myself through that kind of position 0:23:50.320 --> 0:23:53.600 where after twenty plus years as a professional in my 0:23:53.680 --> 0:23:56.120 respective career, I end up going to another country where 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.639 I don't necessarily know the language, and I have a 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:02.080 son and that I have to take care of and 0:24:02.640 --> 0:24:05.720 make ends meet so that he's fed, he's educated, and 0:24:06.119 --> 0:24:07.800 has opportunities to set up for him. 0:24:08.800 --> 0:24:12.439 Elio's mom would hold different jobs, from packing food at 0:24:12.520 --> 0:24:17.040 John F. Kennedy Airport to cleaning offices. Around this time, 0:24:17.240 --> 0:24:20.320 Elio's older brother ended up getting married to a Puerto 0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:22.960 Rican woman and they all moved to the island. 0:24:26.200 --> 0:24:28.800 It's where I form my Spanish is Puerto Rican. By 0:24:28.840 --> 0:24:33.840 all definition, I identify more Puerto Rican than Ecuadorian. 0:24:33.920 --> 0:24:37.520 For that case, livin again in a place where Spanish 0:24:37.720 --> 0:24:41.760 was also spoken. Elio's mom resumed her teaching career. She 0:24:41.880 --> 0:24:44.479 did tutoring to bring in some extra money and went 0:24:44.560 --> 0:24:45.320 back to college. 0:24:45.880 --> 0:24:47.760 It was always very clear for me through her that 0:24:47.960 --> 0:24:52.760 education was the way out of our situation. It wasn't 0:24:52.880 --> 0:24:55.119 full blown poverty, but we didn't have you know, we 0:24:55.200 --> 0:24:57.639 never had a car, I never had internet at my 0:24:57.760 --> 0:25:01.480 own place, we never had cable. I got all these things, 0:25:01.840 --> 0:25:04.720 you know, spending weekends at my friend's house or something. 0:25:05.760 --> 0:25:07.879 That's where I kind of became aware of what the 0:25:08.000 --> 0:25:11.399 working class in middle class people had, you know. It 0:25:11.520 --> 0:25:14.119 gave me those a sense of aspiration to you know, 0:25:14.200 --> 0:25:16.280 if I go to school and do such and such, 0:25:16.760 --> 0:25:19.080 I can have these things, and I can provide these 0:25:19.119 --> 0:25:21.000 opportunities for my friends and family. 0:25:21.760 --> 0:25:24.920 It was during these weekends at his friend's house, while 0:25:24.960 --> 0:25:30.120 watching Saturday morning cartoons, that Ilio became interested in science, math, 0:25:30.200 --> 0:25:30.960 and technology. 0:25:31.440 --> 0:25:34.360 I used to love Dexter's Laboratory still do, would watch 0:25:34.440 --> 0:25:36.520 that in a heartbeat any day. I wanted to be 0:25:36.640 --> 0:25:37.040 like Dexter. 0:25:38.040 --> 0:25:41.800 Dexter, my sensors have picked up a giant meteor headed. 0:25:41.600 --> 0:25:42.680 Directly for Earth. 0:25:47.320 --> 0:25:49.240 I wanted to have my own lab. I wanted to 0:25:49.240 --> 0:25:51.400