2023-05-09 17:00:00
“Three, two, one, take off!” Michela Muñoz Fernández read in English when she was just three years old at her home in Madrid, Spain. Her mother had bought her that book to learn the language, one of the five she would end up speaking as an adult. It was a story about the NASA Apollo missions. Thus she began to germinate her curiosity about space and the exploration of other worlds. Today, after a 25-year career as an engineer, Dr. Muñoz works as an executive of the Return of Mars Samples program at the agency’s headquarters.
“Since I was little I have had an innate interest in space missions; The simple fact of seeing the launches on television, especially the manned missions, created a great emotion in me that I could not explain”, says Muñoz. “Being able to work in space exploration has been a dream for as long as I can remember.”
But working for NASA was not only his dream, but a very clear goal towards which he moved closer with determination. He enjoyed studying, and he had the support of his family. “Especially my mother, who has always encouraged me to pursue my goals and has helped me with everything she could,” says Muñoz. With these basic ingredients he began his studies in telecommunications engineering.
The choice was not by chance. “The fact that Madrid was home to one of NASA’s deep space communications complexes, part of the Deep Space Network, seemed very interesting to me, and it inspired me to study telecommunications engineering in my attempt to get to work at the agency one day”, says Muñoz.
Dr. Michela Muñoz Fernández was always clear that she wanted to work for NASA, and she prepared herself to achieve that goal. In Spain, she studied telecommunication engineering and electronics. Later, she completed a master’s degree in electronic engineering and a graduate course in satellite communications. Later, she completed a master’s degree in space studies in France, for which she developed her thesis at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She went on to earn another master’s degree and a Ph.D. in electronic engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). She developed her doctoral thesis, on optical communications for deep space, also at JPL.
Credit: Courtesy Dr. Michela Muñoz Fernández
That was the first step in his career in the aerospace industry. Since then, he has completed various studies and worked on different flight missions for both NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). Among them is Rosetta, the ESA mission to study a comet up close; Juno, the NASA mission studying the Jovian system, and Artemis I, the first in a series of lunar missions that will pave the way for sending humans to Mars in the future.
In addition, Muñoz participated in the 2009 selection process for the ESA astronaut corps, passing several test phases.
From Mars to Earth
Although, at least for now, he won’t be exploring the cosmos in a spacesuit, Muñoz plays an important role in a historic mission to learn more about our neighboring planet, Mars. “The role of program executive is complex, but basically I am the interface between NASA headquarters and the agency centers where the projects of that program are carried out,” she explains.
In his position, under the NASA Science Mission Directorate, he is responsible for ensuring that the different projects of the program are executed according to the requirements and guidelines of the agency. “That implies a continuous monitoring of the progress made by the different projects, making sure that they have access to the necessary resources and are prepared for the various stages of development and revisions”, explains Muñoz.
“What I miss most about Spain is my family, especially my mother, who has always supported me unconditionally with her love, generosity and joy,” says Muñoz Fernández, who is originally from Madrid. And although she also misses the beaches of the Mediterranean and the “exquisite Spanish food”, the engineer says that when she is in Spain she also misses the United States. She says that she feels “at home” in both countries, since she has lived the same amount of time in each.
credit: NASA-JPL
For the engineer, working at NASA is a privilege. “To be part of such a professional team prepared to carry out this mission is an honor, and I am excited to contribute my experience to make our program successful,” she says.
The Martian sample return campaign is already underway and is extremely complex. The scientifically selected samples are being collected by NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover on the Martian surface, and future missions are expected to make it possible to bring them back to Earth for analysis.
This mission, a collaboration between NASA and ESA, will mark several milestones in the exploration of the universe. “It is the first time that we are going to carry out a mission to return samples from another planet to Earth; also the first time we launch a rocket from another planet”, explains Muñoz. This campaign will also make history with the first space encounter in Martian orbit: two ships will meet in full flight around the red planet to pass the capsule containing the samples. Watch the video below to learn more about the ambitious mission.
more diversity
Carrying out missions as complex as this requires working with different people, who can provide their respective points of view. Throughout her long career at NASA, Muñoz says he has noticed more and more women in his field, for example. “Diversity is enriching,” she says.
“Science and technology do not understand gender; both girls and boys can be good at all kinds of subjects. We are all capable of pursuing a scientific career, regardless of whether we are male or female. You never have to limit yourself and you always have to follow the curiosity and passion that each person has”.
By Noelia González
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
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