Astronaut Ellen of shuttle missions

Sure, I’d be happy to help!

The crossword clue ‘Astronaut Ellen of shuttle missions’ refers to Ellen Ochoa, who was the first Hispanic woman to go to space. She was born on May 10, 1958, in Los Angeles, California and grew up in La Mesa, California.

Ochoa’s passion for space began early on in her life, and she pursued her studies in various fields related to space and science. She graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in physics and later obtained her master’s and doctoral degrees from Stanford University.

In 1991, Ochoa was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate, and she finally got the chance to go to space in 1993 aboard the Discovery shuttle. She went to space in four missions in total, and her missions included conducting various important activities such as deploying satellites, conducting research experiments, and performing spacewalks.

Ochoa is also well-known for her work as a robotics expert at NASA. She led a team that developed robotic systems that were used on the space shuttle and the International Space Station.

So to answer your crossword question, the answer is ‘OCHOA‘ which is the last name of the trailblazing astronaut Ellen Ochoa who is known for her missions in space, scientific expertise, and contribution to robotics technology.