Faces of NASA - NASA

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Faces of NASA

The Faces of NASA series combines stunning portraiture with interviews of NASA's workforce.

“I feel that my larger purpose at NASA, which I've felt since I came on as an intern, is to...
NASA Management and Program Analyst Mallory Carbon, poses for a portrait, Wednesday, May 29, 2024, outside the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
"These days, I can still take advice from people but not let it totally dictate or control the path that...
Parachute Engineer Anh Nguyen poses with her hands on her hips in a white blazer, smiling at the camera wearing black rimmed glasses.
"I had two kids that were three and five, and I was working full time, and I was doing the...
Facility Systems Safety Engineer and Fall Protection Program Administrator Thu Nguyen poses for a portrait wearing a yellow vest and hard hat outside Building 31x, a construction site at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
"I say that to my team, whenever I have an opportunity. I share with my team that they are enabling...
“I had the privilege of being the very first project manager for [the] Near Space Network (NSN), and in my current role as deputy program manager for [the] Exploration and Space Communications Division, it is still in my portfolio. NSN is one of the [agency’s two] communication and navigation networks. When we see the volume and the variety of NASA, other agency, and commercial missions supported by the network, and the science being achieved, and the exploration being enabled — when you leave for the day, you feel accomplished that you contributed [to the] agency’s goal. You contributed toward [the] nation’s priorities, such as cislunar [exploration], and then you helped humankind by enabling the science and exploration. Without communication, every satellite in this space is a black box. So, just knowing that every single day we are flowing terabytes of data through relay and direct-to-earth services directly to our [missions], enabling the exploration and achieving the science — is a great sense of accomplishment. ... Whatever role you are in, as long as you find a way to understand what mission, what goal, what objective you are contributing to, there is no bigger motivator than that. As a software programmer, normally you think that your job is to come in and write some code and solve some discrepancy reports and do the testing — and then you go home. But in the end, when you see that the program you are writing or fixing is something that controls the satellite that’s observing the sea levels and the sea temperatures or [controls] a capsule that is carrying astronauts, now you know you're actually contributing to a bigger purpose, a bigger objective. I say that to my team, whenever I have an opportunity. I share with my team that they are enabling science and exploration for dozens of missions being supported by NSN. Initially it just seems like words, but once they start realizing [their contributions] are real, I can tell you those people don't want to go anywhere. They just feel that sense of accomplishment.” NASA Deputy Program Manager for Exploration and Space Communications, Vir Thanvi poses for a portrait, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Photo Credit: (NASA/Thalia Patrinos)
"For the girls or women in science — or in any profession or job — opportunities are more abundant than...
Space Physics and Space Weather Scientist Dr. Yihua Zheng, poses for a portrait, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Photo Credit: (NASA/Thalia Patrinos)
"What you eventually realize is that your success as a leader is not really yours, it’s the team’s. You’re not...
Dana Weigel stands and smiles in front of a large wall mural of the International Space Station. She has wavy blond hair and is wearing a dark blue jacket over a pink blouse with a circular necklace around her neck.
“… I've just seen such tremendous things happen since I've been part of the Astrobiology Program, and that's why I'm...
A woman with shoulder-length flowing brown hair smiles gently at the camera. She is wearing earrings, a gold necklace, and a white blouse with blue patterned spots. The blue sky, green trees and grass, and a building are blurred but visible behind her.
“One of my cornerstone pinnacles [is], ‘Show up to work [and] life with integrity and intent.’ So, accomplish your goals...
Meghan Everett, wearing dark dress pants and a light-colored blouse with buttons and a ruffled collar, smiles at the camera as she sits at the edge of one of the International Space Station modules inside the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The edges of the module mockup are blue, with a yellow and black striped warning strip present on the step where Meghan is sitting. Blue handrails are present on both sides of the module mockup, and a wide variety of labels are visible on all of the module mockup surfaces within.
“…When I actually defended my dissertation and my family was able to attend, that's when it hit them. They were...
A woman with twisted dark brown hair and brown eyes smiles happily at the camera while crossing her hands across her chest. She's wearing a royal blue blazer with white piping around the outside. She stands before a brick wall with the NASA logo behind her.
"Everywhere I've been since I got commissioned [as an Air Force officer], my very first office in 1997, I hang...
A woman wearing thick-rimmed glasses, a purple sweater, and a black cardigan smiles widely at the camera. Paintings of worlds across our Solar System are blurred in the background as light from above perfectly frames her face, surrounded by loose, dirty blonde curls.
"…I love to share the messy ride. It's OK that you have bumps. It's OK if there's obstacles. You have...
A woman with long brown hair and dark brown eyes stands against metal stairs, smiling. She holds a railing with her left arm and her right arm down at her side. She's wearing a light beige blazer over a white shirt, blue jeans, and a brown belt.
"I've come a long way from thinking, 'Well, I did this whole dissertation on geysers, what it would take for...
A woman that's standing in the woods wearing a red blouse and red suit jacket smiles widely at the camera.
"Anyone you see on the streets, their color or background doesn't matter; we all come into this world the same...
Charles Gatebe, wearing a blue checkered dress shirt, looks at the camera against a background of blue skies, white fluffy clouds, and green grass.
"Being able to see the world from a different perspective is incredible, and getting to fly in space was the...
Bob Hines, wearing a red work polo and white gloves, smiles at the camera from his position at a workstation with many screens and wires aboard the International Space Station.
"... it's challenge, service, and building the future. If I don't do anything else in my entire life except for...
Rodney Martin, wearing an olive-colored NASA jacket and a blue dress shirt underneath, smiles at the camera. He is standing in the foreground with Lake Chabot Park in the background.
"You must have grit, resilience, courage, and strength. I'm able to really share all the wisdom and the lessons I've...
Dr. Camille Alleyne smiles as she looks off in the distance while standing in front of the Robert McCall mural, "Opening the Space Frontier — the Next Giant Step,” in the lobby of Building 2 at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
"It takes a lot of courage to confront your fears and failures. Each and every time is really difficult, but...
A Vietnamese-American woman with shoulder-length black hair stands in front of a building that is out of focus. She wears a light blue shirt with buttons and a red blazer with a small NASA "meatball" pin.
“I read [‘The Last Man on the Moon’] by Gene Cernan, and he was describing how he felt looking at...
Margarita Sampson thoughtfully gazes off into the distance as she sits in the lobby of Building 1 at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Behind her are two pieces of text. The first says, "Dare Unite Explore" in a circle above "Johnson Space Center." The second says, "We DARE to expand frontiers. We UNITE with our partners to complete bold missions and we EXPLORE space for the benefit of humankind."
"Once the rocket launched, [I saw] how it illuminated such a dark space. So even when you're in a dark...
Ales-Cia Winsley smiles for the camera as she sits in front of a row of desks in Firing Room 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. She is wearing a bright magenta jacket with two pins (the NASA "meatball" insignia and the NASA Artemis logo) present on her right lapel, a white shirt, and striped slacks.
"Everyone needs an anchor from their community to motivate and inspire them to move forward. I want to be a...
A man wearing a tan flight suit flies in a blue-lit flight simulator. Navigation guidance and other controls light up the simulator’s front dashboard.
“The goal is to get as many of the wrong ideas out of the way as early as possible." —...
"As an immigrant myself reporting on stories about other immigrants, I want to show people that space is for all,...
Noelia González smiles widely in the center of the frame. She is wearing large round glasses and a multicolored top of blues and oranges with a flower pattern, and her dark brown hair frames her face. Behind her is the brightly colored artwork for "Universo Curioso de la NASA," NASA’s first-ever Spanish podcast.
“I think the experience of putting yourself in an uncomfortable environment and coming at the other end with lessons learned...
"It's amazing when I get a chance to see the space station fly over. I am very fortunate to be...
Liliana Villarreal, Artemis landing and recovery director with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), stands in front of the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) at the turn basin in the Launch Complex 39 area at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 1, 2023.
"The stars aligned – I was working at Johnson Space Center in Houston about six months later. That’s how I...
Environmental Portrait of Isidro Reyna in Bldg. 30, in front of the Mission Control Center doors, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“They say if you live long enough, there's a good chance you'll join this community. And just remember, if that...
Dana smiles softly, wearing a red, short-sleeved collared shirt with the Artemis logo on it. She has long, dark brown hair and black eyeliner accentuating her dark brown eyes. She's seated in an electric chair, wearing her flesh-colored prosthetic arms.
"It was just this Frankenstein monstrosity of PVC pipes and messy high schooler soldering and wiring. But no matter how...
Portrait of Jennifer Hamilton for Faces of NASA Project.
“Then, coming to NASA, [I was] like, ‘Oh, there's the bigger sense of purpose,’ I found it in Artemis, in...
Social Media Specialist Chad Siwik stands in front of a doorway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. He is wearing a suit and tie and is smiling at the camera.
"In order to really bring the community up, we have to lift from the bottom. And when we do things...
Mars Research Scientist S. J. Ralston smiles at the camera. They are wearing glasses, earrings, and a collared shirt. The background is out of focus.
"So here I am, a transgender woman, an engineer, working at Kennedy Space Center, and I get to work around...
Systems Engineering Supervisor Amy Lendian smiles at the camera in a white collared shirt and a black blazer. She is wearing an Artemis pin on her lapel. The background is out of focus.
"'NASA for all.' That's something that I think is really important because we are the universe, right? We are made...
A woman with dark, long brown, wavy hair looks into the distance with a soft smile on her face. She's wearing a black blazer and the collar of her white button down shirt sticks out the top. A tree and greenery is blurred in the background.
"We always have some level of self-doubt, but if the end goal of what you’re trying to achieve is going...
A woman with long, curly, and brown balayaged hair smiles widely, wearing a long black suit jacket and white shirt. She's standing in front of space hardware with International Space Station mission patches on showcase and an American flag behind her.
"My big takeaway is: it's okay to take chances. Sometimes we step in our own way and we need to...
Public Affairs Officer Tiffany Fairley stands in front of a mural and smiles at the camera at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
“I think I’m always seeking out projects that help people feel seen. And maybe that’s why I got so into...
“I think I’m always seeking out projects that help people feel seen. And maybe that’s why I got so into photography initially. I struggle with that myself — feeling seen. And so to help other people feel seen is definitely an interest of mine that I keep coming back to." — Aubrey Gemignani, Photo Archivist/Photographer, Mori Associates
"…You cannot grow without approaching the fear, embracing the fear, and then pushing past it." — Tahira Allen, Digital Lead,...
Tahira Allen leans on a wall while gazing into the distance. She is wearing a white plaid sweater. A faint outline of the United States Capitol building can be seen in the background.
“I wanted to create a game because right now, a lot of what we [at NASA] make is geared toward...
Courtney Lee, a Black American woman, looks happy and confident, smiling at the camera while standing in front of a Roman Telescope model. She's wearing a long sleeve black turtle neck under a yellow plaid dress. Her short, curly hair frames her face.
"So, part of the motivation [for my method acting] is just out of interest. I always find value out of...
"So, part of the motivation [for my method acting] is just out of interest. I always find value out of the new skill. It lends itself both in my personal life and professional life." — Dr. Marcus Johnson, Project Manager, Aviation Systems Division, NASA's Ames Research Center
"[I asked myself] how am I going to teach about that heritage, if I'm not fully familiar with it? So,...
Ronnie Adams stands in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building with his arms folded in front of his chest.
"If I can advocate for all the groups that need equity, I'm glad to do it." – Anita Dey, Strategic...
An Indian woman with short, curly, salt and pepper hair smiles softly at the camera wearing a sunshine yellow quarter sleeve blouse. Her hands are clasped as she leans agains a railing outside, with bright green bushes on her right-hand side.
“A lot of people in similar positions as myself, we struggle a lot with confidence and imposter syndrome – I...
A man from Colombia with shoulder length brown hair and facial hair, smiles widely at the camera wearing a light blue button up shirt and dark pants. His right elbow props him up on the railing outside at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.