Meet Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to go to outer space! Originally from La Mesa, California she grew up the middle of five children. Though neither of her parents had college degrees, her mother instilled in her how important it was to get an education. While attending graduate school at Stanford University for physics and engineering she became fascinated by the field of optics eventually earning three patents on optical inventions. Her inventions always involved ways for a computer to find a particular object within an image. This system could be used in manufacturing such as inspecting for flaws, or on a space vehicle such as the Rover that traversed Mars for several years. In 1990, after being rejected twice before, Ellen Ochoa applied for NASA Training Program and was finally accepted. She finished training in 1991 and was soon selected for a mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery in April of 1993 making her the first Hispanic woman to go to space! The purpose of the m...