File:Joseph_Acaba_v2.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Joseph M. Acaba
Sign in to saveAlso known as Joseph Michael Acaba, Joe Acaba
Astronaut, Hydrogeologist, science teacher
OverviewAI-generated
Joseph Michael Acaba is an American astronaut and teacher born in Inglewood in 1967. He is a member of NASA Astronaut Group 19 and has served with NASA. Acaba was educated at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Arizona. He also served in the United States Marine Corps, holding the rank of Sergeant, and was a member of the Peace Corps.
Acaba has flown on missions including Soyuz MS-06, Soyuz TMA-04M, STS-119, and Expedition 31. His time in space totals 440640 units. He has received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. Acaba speaks English and is recognized in the Astronauts collection.
Synthesized by Vinony from 20 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Key facts
- Born
- Joseph Michael Acabá , ( 1967-05-17 ) May 17, 1967 (age 59) , Inglewood, California , U.S.
- Education
- University of California, Santa Barbara ( BS ) University of Arizona ( MS ) Texas Tech University ( MEd )
- Rank
- Sergeant , USMCR
- Time in space
- 306 days, 34 minutes
- Selection
- NASA Group 19 (2004)
- Total eva time
- 19 hours, 46 minutes
- Missions
- STS-119 Soyuz TMA-04M ( Expedition 31 / 32 ) Soyuz MS-06 ( Expedition 53 / 54 )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Part of
- NASA Astronaut Group 19
- Given name
- Michael
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Inglewood
- Occupation
- astronaut
- Educated at
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- Employer
- NASA
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Military branch
- United States Marine Corps
- Military rank
- Sergeant
- Image
- Joseph Acaba v2.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- Commons category
- Joseph M. Acaba
- date of birth
- 1967-05-17
- time in space
- 440640
- member of
- Peace Corps
- birth name
- Joseph Michael Acaba
- member of the crew of
- Soyuz TMA-04M
- social media followers
- 45660
- name in native language
- Joseph M. Acaba
- P450
- Expedition 54
via Wikidata · CC0
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Joseph Michael Acabá (born May 17, 1967) is an American educator, hydrogeologist, and NASA astronaut. In May 2004, he became the first person of Puerto Rican ancestry to be named as a NASA astronaut candidate, when he was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Training Group 19. He completed his training on February 10, 2006, and was assigned to STS-119, which flew from March 15 to 28, 2009, to deliver the final set of solar arrays to the International Space Station. He is the first person of Caribbean and Puerto Rican origin, and the twelfth of fifteen people of Ibero-American heritage to have flown to space as a NASA astronaut.
Acabá served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station, having launched on May 15, 2012. He arrived at the space station on May 17 and returned to Earth on September 17, 2012. Acaba returned to the International Space Station in 2017 as a member of Expedition 53/54. From 2023 to 2025, Acaba served as the 18th Chief of the Astronaut Office.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Joseph M. Acaba” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.