NASA Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month 2023: Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa
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NASA Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month 2023: Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa
Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa, project manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
NASA
Dr. Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa, born and raised in Puerto Rico, made a courageous decision to pivot her academic studies – launching her towards an accomplished career in defense, space, and aeronautics research for NASA.
She headed to medical school after earning her undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico. After two years, she knew it was not the right path for her and shifted her sights to graduating with a doctorate in physics.
Now, she manages foundational electrified aircraft propulsion research for NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies project, leading a team of researchers aiming to develop innovative materials and methods to advance sustainable aviation.
Biaggi-Labiosa delivers a presentation in Spanish to engineering students at the University of Puerto Rico.
NASA
This past year, she gave back to her alma mater. Dr. Biaggi-Labiosa was instrumental in organizing university engagements and industry visits to Puerto Rico, building relationships with NASA. She delivered a project overview in Spanish to an engaged group of engineering students and has helped recruit inspiring individuals for NASA internships.
Individuals who are awarded in the Outstanding Technical Achievement category have made a significant technological contribution to STEM through key research and by having designed, developed, managed, or assisted in the development of a product, service, system, or intellectual property.
The HENAAC awards were created in 1989 to honor the world-class achievements of outstanding Hispanic engineers, scientists, and STEM professionals.
NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara is pictured trying on her spacesuit and testing its components aboard the International Space Station ahead of an upcoming spacewalk.
Two United States operating segment spacewalks outside the International Space Station have been rescheduled for no earlier than Thursday, Oct. 19, and Monday, Oct. 30, as a result of ongoing review by NASA managers and engineers after a coolant leak from a backup radiator on the station’s Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.
The spacewalks were deferred from their original target dates to allow engineers additional time to complete their analysis of the coolant leak, which occurred on Oct. 9 and has now stopped.
During the first spacewalk NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen will exit the station’s Quest airlock to collect samples for analysis to see whether microorganisms may exist on the exterior of the orbital complex. They also will replace a high-definition camera on the port truss of the station and conduct other maintenance work to prepare for future spacewalks.
O’Hara will serve as extravehicular activity (EVA) crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Mogensen will serve as extravehicular crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. U.S. Spacewalk 89 will be the first spacewalk for both crew members.
During the second spacewalk, O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli will complete the removal of a faulty electronics box, called a Radio Frequency Group, from a communications antenna bracket and replace one of twelve Trundle Bearing Assemblies on the port truss Solar Alpha Rotary Joint. The bearings enable the station’s solar arrays to rotate properly to track the sun as the station orbits the Earth. During this spacewalk, Moghbeli will serve as EVA crew member 1 and O’Hara will serve as EVA crew member 2. U.S. Spacewalk 90 will be the first spacewalk for Moghbeli and second for O’Hara.
Details on times for the spacewalks are being reviewed and times for live coverage on NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app and will be shared once available.
Cargo operations and maintenance filled the Expedition 70 crew’s day as International Space Station managers and engineers continued reviewing the ceased leak data. In the meantime, two cosmonauts are also gearing up for their own spacewalk.
Astronauts Loral O’Hara of NASA and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) were back on cargo duty Thursday morning. The duo continued unpacking cargo from the Cygnus space freighter and loaded trash and discarded items for disposal aboard the commercial cargo craft. Cygnus delivered several tons of science and supplies on Aug. 2 and will depart the station and complete its mission in December.
O’Hara also worked on the Cold Atom Lab completing the installation of new science components and reconnection of cables on the quantum physics research device. Furukawa collected drinking water samples for processing and analysis in the Destiny laboratory module.
Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) along with NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli spent a few moments on Thursday checking out spacesuit components including safety jetpacks and other gear. Mogensen would also photograph the condition of the Columbus laboratory module and perform educational science activities. Moghbeli inspected and cleaned hatch seals in the station’s U.S. segment then cleared away items blocking ventilation systems and narrowing passage between modules.
Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub continued preparing for their spacewalk scheduled on Oct. 25 to install new hardware and deploy a nanosatellite. The pair from Roscosmos collected and organized their spacewalking tools inside the Poisk airlock where the planned six-hour and 45-minute spacewalk will begin. Kononenko also jogged on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill for in a physical fitness evaluation. Chub worked in Nauka testing the performance of laptop computers.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov spent most of his day on a variety of maintenance tasks as he serviced life support gear and panels inside the Nauka module. Borisov also transferred water from the Progress 85 cargo craft into the station and jogged on the treadmill for a fitness test after Kononenko.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Psyche spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Psyche mission, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will travel to a metal-rich asteroid by the same name orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter to study its composition. The spacecraft also carries the agency’s Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration, which will test laser communications beyond the Moon.
ISS Research Communications Lead Jennifer Hamilton
“I can almost directly trace my entire career back to [my extracurriculars] in high school and a mentor I had. My first foray into engineering was this high school program called the Robotics Science Academy. It was basically my high school’s attempt to put together a curriculum that was designed specifically to prepare students for an engineering track in college. But since it was the first year of trying this program, there were only about eight of us. The high school teacher leading the robotics track, Mr. Donelson, was always [encouraging] about trying new things and getting out of our comfort zone. And I think that always really helped me.
“So I owe a lot to him, for sure. He would stay after school with us and walk us through our assignments, and ended up encouraging us to enter an underwater robotics competition. Because we were fairly landlocked — which is obviously not great for underwater robotics that are meant for deep sea missions — we sort of lucked our way into the international competition.
“Even so, we ended up winning a ‘bang for your buck’ award based on the amount of tasks we completed in the mission and the cost of our robot, because the cost was very, very low. It was just this Frankenstein monstrosity of PVC pipes and messy high schooler soldering and wiring. But no matter how it looked, I was lucky to have teachers like Mr. Donelson to push all of us forward.”
— Jennifer Hamilton, Communications Lead, ISS Research Integration Office, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Image Credit: NASA / James Blair Interviewer: NASA / Thalia Patrinos
NASA Glenn Employees Chosen as Outstanding Hispanic STEM Professionals
Nelson Morales (left), Janette C. Briones (center), and Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa at NASA Glenn Research Center’s Aerospace Communications Facility in October 2023.
Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna
Three employees from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland have been chosen to receive awards that recognize the achievements of outstanding Hispanic engineers, scientists, and STEM professionals.
Janette C. Briones, Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa, and Nelson Morales will be presented with Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Corporation (HENAAC) and Luminary awards during the Great Minds in STEM conference in Pasadena, California, held from Oct. 11 through 14.
Learn more about the NASA Glenn honorees and each of their recognitions:
Nelson Morales
Nelson Morales, chief of NASA Glenn’s Structural Mechanics Branch, has been chosen as a 2023 Luminary. This award recognizes Hispanic innovators who are engineering the future while lighting the way for the next generation of STEM leaders. Luminaries are chosen for their achievements leading, collaborating, and initiating key programs and research in their respective fields. “It’s an honor to receive this award because we want to be role models for the Hispanic community,” Morales said. “I am thankful for all of the people who have helped and supported me throughout the years and have made this possible.”
Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna
Janette C. Briones
Janette C. Briones, project manager and principal investigator for NASA Glenn’s Cognitive Communications Project, has received the 2023 HENAAC Professional Achievement I (Government) award. The HENAAC award recognizes leaders, innovators, and champions who contribute to the Hispanic community at the highest levels of academia, government, military, and corporate America. “It’s something that I wasn’t expecting; there are so many outstanding engineers,” Briones said of being chosen for the award. “I’m very grateful that I have received it, and I have worked hard for it.”
Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna
Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa
Azlin Biaggi-Labiosa, NASA Glenn’s manager for the Foundational Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Subproject, has received the 2023 HENAAC Outstanding Technical Achievement (Government) award. The HENAAC award recognizes leaders, innovators, and champions who contribute to the Hispanic community at the highest levels of academia, government, military, and corporate America. “It feels great to be honored and appreciated,” Biaggi-Labiosa said. “It validates all the work that I put in these 14 years [at NASA].”
