Seven new flight directors have been selected by NASA for the International Space Station, commercial crew missions, and the Artemis mission to the moon. Diana Trujillo, who hails from Cali, Colombia, is one of the inductees for the class of 2022.

These future flight directors will complete a comprehensive training program that includes both operational leadership and risk management, as well as technical aspects of flight control and spacecraft systems, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA astronauts count on these individuals to lead teams of flight controllers, engineers, and support personnel around the world, making critical decisions that determine their safety.

Norm Knight, NASA Director of Flight Operations, said, 'These highly qualified individuals will be responsible for the safety of astronauts and executing human spaceflight missions.' 'NASA was able to recruit many excellent candidates.

NASA's flight directors oversee missions to the space station and are preparing missions to the moon for NASA's Artemis program. There have been 108 agency flight directors since Christopher C. Kraft Jr., the agency's first flight director in 1958, became the agency's first flight director.

As a new class of astronauts, they will be leading all human activities in space, following in the footsteps of Apollo-era flight directors such as Glynn Lunney, Gene Kranz, and Harry Kraft.

To become a NASA flight director takes years of training and dedication, along with a background of professional experience in a fast-paced, high-stress environment.'It is an honor for me to welcome the flight director class of 2022. 

The diverse group brings a wealth of experience that includes flying the space station, launching rockets, driving Mars rovers, and developing interplanetary missions,' said Emily Nelson, acting NASA Chief Flight Director.

It will be essential for humanity's return to the Moon and exploration of Mars that these flight directors bring with them extensive experience. I am delighted that they have joined the team.'

The most recent position Diana Trujillo held was Supervisor of the Integrated Planning and Sequencing Group for Surface Missions at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

As a Mars Perseverance rover mission lead, she was responsible for the rover's tactical command team and the team that analyzed its telemetry to determine its health and state.

Mars Perseverance's early surface operations included the commissioning and deployment of Ingenuity, the first helicopter to operate on another planet. She previously served as a mission leader and engineering operations deputy team chief on the Mars Curiosity mission.

Trujillo was born and raised in Cali, Colombia, and graduated from the University of Maryland in College Park with a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering as well as additional study at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Additionally, she graduated from Miami-Dade College in Florida and the NASA Academy at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. In 2021, she was awarded the Cruz de Boyacá, Colombia's highest civilian honor.