Joseph M. Acaba

Joseph Michael Acaba (born 1967) is an American educator, hydrogeologist and NASA astronaut. Selected as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 19 in May 2004 and completing training in February 2006, Acaba became the first person of Puerto Rican descent chosen as a NASA astronaut. His first spaceflight was STS-119, a Space Shuttle Discovery mission flown from March 15 to 28, 2009, that delivered and installed the final set of solar arrays to the International Space Station, completing the station's main power system. Acaba later flew two long-duration missions to the International Space Station as part of Expeditions 31/32 in 2012 and Expeditions 53/54 in 2017-2018, accumulating substantial time living and working in orbit. Before joining NASA, Acaba taught middle school science and math and worked as a hydrogeologist, and throughout his astronaut career he has been recognized as a pioneering figure for Caribbean and Puerto Rican representation in human spaceflight.