This is Liliana Villareal, the Colombian who 'landed' at NASA to lead the return of astronauts to Earth.

Liliana Villareal is a Colombian woman who shines brightly, demonstrating her Latin American talent at NASA. This engineer is the landing and recovery director for the Artemis program with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) , assuming one of the most critical responsibilities in the complex mission of returning astronauts safely to Earth from deep space.

Villarreal's appointment is not only a personal milestone, but a source of pride for the global Latino community. His role involves overseeing the difficult and vital efforts to recover the Orion spacecraft crew once it lands in the Pacific Ocean after completing its missions around the Moon.

Lili Villarreal's career at NASA is a testament to dedication and excellence. Before rising to her current position, Villarreal played a pivotal role as deputy flow manager for the Artemis I mission . In this role, she was responsible for the integration, assembly, and extensive testing of both the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft itself. Her experience in the technical and operational aspects of these cutting-edge missions is undeniable, and has been instrumental in her advancement within the space agency.

Born in Colombia, Liliana Villarreal arrived in the United States at the age of 10, making her an inspiring example of how talent and perseverance, combined with opportunity, can lead to reaching the highest levels of engineering and science worldwide. She graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in aerospace engineering, laying the groundwork for a career that would take her to the forefront of human space exploration.

This Cartagena native's work not only directly contributes to the success of the Artemis missions, but also serves future generations of engineers and scientists , particularly women and minorities, demonstrating that there are no limits to what can be achieved in the fields of science and technology. Her commitment to safety and excellence is a fundamental pillar in NASA's ongoing quest to push the boundaries of human exploration.

The Cartagena native spoke exclusively to EL TIEMPO , where she said that since she was little she wanted to be an astronaut, "like many children." She also said that Sally Rode, the first American female astronaut , was the one who inspired her to become who she is today: "I wanted to be her. I just wanted to do what she was doing. And there were many other women who came after her who were very inspiring. Even now, my mentor is Charlie Blackwell Thompson , who is the Artemis launch director. She is incredible and I am always inspired by everyone who works in the space program."

This Colombian also explained her role as head of landing and recovery for the Artemis program: "My job is to lead the team and direct it to recover the astronauts. We must do this within two hours of their landing at the nominal landing site at the end of the mission , which is where we expect them to arrive."

Liliana Villareal believes it's important to return to the moon because, "as humans, we need to continue exploring the solar system. We live on a planet that doesn't have an infinite amount of resources. At some point, we'll run out. We need to learn to live on other planets, possibly the moon, and you never know what you'll find when you explore. We might find a ton of technologically advanced materials that we could use to solve our problems here on Earth—energy, possibly medical—we don't know. But if we don't try, we'll never be able to advance our society further."

LATEST NEWS EDITORIAL