Katya Echazarreta, the first-ever Mexican-born woman to travel to space, joined Ryan Seacrest on-air on Thursday, June 16, and shared her inspiring story as well as what people don't tell you about traveling to space!
Katya was born in Jalisco, Mexico, before moving to California when she was 7. She later worked at McDonald’s to help provide for her family before attending UCLA and then achieving her goals of traveling to space at just 26.
"Incredible does not even begin to put it," Katya, who was one of the six individuals who boarded the Blue Origin NS-21tourist flight to space on June 4th, admitted.
"My goal was NASA. My goal was space. You have to start small and eventually you get there," she shared. "Baby steps."
So, what's the most amazing thing about space?
"It is absolutely amazing, but I think what really surprised me the most is the size," she added. "The size of our planet and when we put it in perspective, ... being able to see the atmosphere, it is the most beautiful blue I've ever seen in my life. ... [Also] we think we know what black is. We do not know what black is until we look at the black of space!"
Listen back to the full interview with Katya to learn more, including what people don't tell you about traveling to space like the morning of diet, diapers and more!