In this episode, our host, Mariana Carvalho, reflects on the powerful lessons she has learned from the first season of the Timeless Technology podcast. Lessons on relationships, equality, being your authentic self, and making one of the most important career decisions in our lives: choosing the right partner.

The interviews mentioned in this episode are with Telle Whitney, Radia Perlman, Ali Guarneros Luna, and Dr. Sue Black, in that order. The books mentioned by Mariana are The Mother of All Questions, Men Explain Things to Me, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, and Wanderlust, all by Rebecca Solnit.

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In this episode, our host, Mariana Carvalho, sits down with Ali Guarneros Luna, a former aerospace engineer at NASA, whose work has been instrumental in numerous NASA projects, including CubeSat and the Technological and Educational Nanosatellite (TechEdSat).

This is part two of the episode, Ali shared more about her work at NASA, developing the CubeSats, its environmental benefits, and her story of breaking through the mold of the stereotype of what an aerospace engineer looks like.

Books:

• The Martian, by Andy Weir
• Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Shetterly.

Movies:

• Ad Astra, 2019
• Hidden Figures, 2016

Photo © Personal Archive Ali Guarneros Luna

In this episode, our host, Mariana Carvalho, sits down with Ali Guarneros Luna, a former aerospace engineer at NASA, whose work has been instrumental in numerous NASA projects, including CubeSat and the Technological and Educational Nanosatellite (TechEdSat). Ali shares her remarkable journey—from growing up in Mexico in the ‘70s and ‘80s, being inspired by a spaceship in an encyclopedia at age seven, and surviving the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, to immigrating to the U.S., becoming her family’s breadwinner, and pursuing her dream of becoming an aerospace engineer while raising four children.

The conversation is one of resilience, the challenges she overcame, and her contributions to space exploration, as well as her insights on mentorship and paving the way for future generations in STEM.

This is the first part of our interview. Stay tuned for the part II.

References mentioned in this episode:

• Earthquake Mexico City, 1985: NIST.

  1994 California Proposition 187: Wikipedia.

Photo © Personal Archive Ali Guarneros Luna