Joseph M. Acaba served as the 18th Chief of the Astronaut Office from 2023 to 2025, marking a significant milestone in a career that began in classrooms and laboratories. Selected by NASA in 2004, he holds the distinction of being the first person of Puerto Rican ancestry to enter the agency's astronaut training program.
Academic and Professional Background
Born in 1967 in Inglewood, California, Acaba graduated from Esperanza High School in 1985 before pursuing geology. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1990 and a master's degree from the University of Arizona in 1992. His early professional life included serving as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and working as a hydrogeologist in Los Angeles. Additionally, he spent two years with the Peace Corps, training hundreds of teachers in the Dominican Republic, and later served as an island manager for Caribbean Marine Research in the Bahamas.
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Before his space flight career, Acaba was a dedicated educator. He worked as a shoreline revegetation coordinator in Vero Beach, Florida, and taught math and science at both the middle and high school levels, including time at Melbourne High School. He returned to academia in 2012, eventually earning a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction from Texas Tech University in 2015.
Space Exploration Missions
Acaba completed his initial astronaut training in February 2006. His first mission was STS-119 in 2009, which delivered final solar arrays to orbit. He later served as a flight engineer during Expedition 31/32, launching from Kazakhstan in May 2012 and returning in September. In 2017, he participated in his third mission aboard Soyuz MS-06 as part of Expedition 53/54, which included a nearly seven-hour spacewalk to install new robotic arm cameras.
Operational Leadership
Between his flight assignments, Acaba held various management roles within NASA, including Branch Chief of the space station operations branch and Director of Operations in Russia. These positions required overseeing crew training and mission preparation. His commitment to exploration extended to terrestrial simulation, such as the 2019 ESA CAVES training in Italy and Slovenia, where he spent six nights underground to replicate planetary exploration conditions.
Fast facts
- Born: 1967, Inglewood, California
- Education: University of Arizona, UC Santa Barbara, Texas Tech University
- Military service: Sergeant, United States Marine Corps Reserve
- NASA selection: May 2004
- Space missions: STS-119, Expedition 31/32, Expedition 53/54
- Major award: NASA Distinguished Service Medal (2012)
- Chief of the Astronaut Office: 2023–2025
Questions readers ask
What was Acaba's background before becoming an astronaut?
He was a hydrogeologist and a teacher, having worked in the Peace Corps and as an educator in Florida high schools and middle schools.
Did Acaba perform spacewalks during his missions?
Yes, he performed spacewalks during STS-119 in 2009 and later during Expedition 53/54 in 2017.
Achievements
- Affiliated with National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Educated at University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Arizona and Esperanza High School
- Worked as astronaut, teacher and hydrogeologist
