Edward González, Latino Engineer, Contributed to Training for NASA's Artemis II Mission

Career A Latino engineer participated in a rotational work program at NASA's Johnson Space Center while studying aerospace engineering.

His interest in space stemmed from childhood observations of the moon using a telescope during the Apollo program era. He was 11 years old when Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969, which influenced his career choice. Upon returning to NASA, the engineer trained new flight controllers for certification on Artemis missions.

He integrated into the training for Artemis I, an uncrewed lunar flyby launched in 2022 to test the Orion spacecraft. Following that mission's completion in December 2022, he assisted in preparations for Artemis II, including his first involvement in astronaut training.

The mission tested the Orion spacecraft's life support systems during a flight that orbited Earth before heading toward the moon. On Monday during the mission, the crew reached a distance farther from Earth than any previous human spaceflight and observed sections of the moon's far side in sunlight for the first time with the naked eye.

The Artemis program aims to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.

Artemis II represents the first crewed flight in this series after the uncrewed Artemis I. The mission concluded with a landing off the coast of San Diego on Friday evening.

“I was a flight controller and working in the mission control center supporting the space shuttle program.”

The engineer's training efforts supported the mission control team and astronauts in preparing for Artemis II. His work as an instructor focused on ensuring personnel were certified for the mission's requirements. The Los Angeles Times reported on his career and contributions ahead of the mission's splashdown.