El Paso natives working to put the next person on the moon

The 50-year anniversary for the Apollo 11 moon landing has captured national headlines. But El Pasoans at NASA today are leading the way for future moon landings

Ginger Kerrick is an El Paso native and Flight Integration Chief for NASA.

Kerrick says, ” you know I came into this world when we had people on the moon and I knew that at an early age.”

She knew at five years old, she wanted to work for NASA. Starting her career 28 years ago, she became the first Hispanic female flight director. While she is celebrating the achievements of the past, she is working to make the next moonwalk happen.

“Going forward I’m working with people who are designing the Orion vehicle the big rocket the SLS rocket that will take us there,” Kerrick explains.

NASA now has plans to put boots on the moon by 2024, and other El Pasoans are following in Kerrick’s footsteps. Alyssa Saenz was just certified as a robotics flight controller, and just so happened to go to the same high school as Kerrick.

Saenz says, “you know that really made my dream seem more realistic and that I could do it and I really hope that I can be an inspiration to other young people the way that ginger was to me.”

Saenz echo’s Kerrick and says she hopes to follow in the footsteps of the flight controllers that worked on the Apollo mission, but she also wants to push beyond.

“Those flight controllers that made that mission possible and hopefully one day I can be a part of the next lunar mission or the first mission to Mars,” Saenz says.

Kerrick says training the next generation of engineers and operators has been her greatest accomplishment, and the future for NASA and space exploration is bright.

She says, “We train these people and they are doing well in this world and when I retire NASA will be in really, really good hands.”