Tracy Drain facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tracy Drain
Official NASA profile photograph, 2008
Education	Mechanical Engineering, University of Kentucky
Occupation	Systems Engineer
Employer	NASA
Spouse(s)	Ted Drain (Married 2003 - present)

Tracy Drain is a super smart engineer who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She helps design and build spacecraft! She was the deputy chief engineer for the Juno mission, which reached the giant planet Jupiter in June 2016.

Tracy Drain's Early Life and Education

Tracy Drain was born in Louisville, Kentucky. She was always curious about space. She loved learning how the Solar System was formed. In 11th grade, while at Waggener High School, she decided to study mechanical engineering.

What Inspired Tracy Drain?

Tracy was a big fan of science fiction shows. She loved Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica. These shows probably made her even more excited about space!

School Days and College

Throughout high school, Tracy competed in math contests. She always made sure to watch Space Shuttle launches on TV. She earned her first degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1998. Then, she got a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2000. Tracy was the first person in her close family to get a college degree.

Internships and Joining NASA

While in college, she spent two summers working as an intern for NASA Langley. After graduating, she interviewed with several aerospace companies. She chose JPL because she felt "that their mission was my mission: the robotic exploration of space."

The Juno spacecraft flying near Jupiter.

Tracy Drain's Amazing Career at NASA

Tracy Drain joined JPL right after finishing college in 2000. Her first big project was working on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This spacecraft was designed to study Mars.

Leading Space Missions

After the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched in 2005, Tracy was promoted. She became the lead systems engineer for the mission. In 2007, Tracy joined the Kepler project. She was the Missions Readiness Lead. The Kepler mission was looking for planets similar to Earth. She stayed with Kepler until 2009.

Working on the Juno Mission

In 2009, Tracy joined the Juno mission. Juno's job is to study Jupiter's gravity and magnetic fields. Tracy is also a Technical Group Supervisor. She leads the Flight Systems Engineering group. She has worked for NASA for more than 17 years.

Future Missions

Tracy also worked on the Psyche mission. This mission is studying the largest known metal asteroid in our Solar System. The Psyche spacecraft launched in 2023. Tracy is currently the lead flight system systems engineer for NASA's Europa Clipper mission. This mission is set to launch in 2024. It will travel to the Jupiter system to study one of Jupiter's moons, Europa.

Sharing Her Passion: Public Engagement

Tracy Drain loves to share her excitement for engineering with others. She takes part in many activities to do this.

Connecting Science and Entertainment

She is an Exchange Consultant for the National Academy of Sciences. This program helps connect people in the entertainment industry with scientists and engineers. The goal is to make sure science in movies and TV shows is accurate.

Film Festivals and STEM

Tracy was a Jury Member for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. She has also spoken about women in film and engineering. She spoke alongside actress Diane Kruger at the Sloan Film Summit. Tracy always encourages girls and young people to explore careers in STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Hidden Figures and TEDx Talk

Tracy helped promote the 2016 film Hidden Figures. This movie was about amazing African-American women who worked at NASA. She was part of a series of films called Hidden Figures, Modern Figures. She also took part in several discussions about the movie. In 2017, Tracy gave a TEDx talk. It was called "Beauty of the Fall."

Awards and Recognition

Tracy Drain has received several important awards for her work:

• 2007 - NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal: For her excellent work on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission.
• 2009 - NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal: For her great work guiding the Kepler mission's launch and operations.
• 2015 - JPL Bruce Murray Award: For helping educate minority and female STEM students.
• 2015 - Women in Engineering ProActive Network Women in Engineering Champion Award.

Tracy Drain's Personal Life

Tracy Drain is married to Ted Drain. He is also an engineer at JPL.

Actor and space tourist astronaut William Shatner with Tracy Drain at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

See also

In Spanish: Tracy Drain para niños