NASA Flight Director Diana Trujillo made history on February 18, 2021, when the Perseverance rover landed safely on the planet Mars, culminating a seven-month journey. The landing itself was historic, but so was Diana's achievement. Having moved to the United States from Colombia at 17 years old with just $300 to her name. She didn't even speak English, and now as an aerospace engineer, she is one of only a few Latina scientists working for NASA and even more rare as a flight director.
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"We didn't even have food. We'd boil an egg and we'd cut it in half, and that was our lunch that day. I remember just laying down on the grass and looking at the sky and thinking, 'Something has to be out there that's better than this,'" said Diana, whose family struggled financially throughout her childhood, ultimately prompting her decision to leave home and pursue an education in the US.