Member Spotlight: Tricia Mack

by Danielle Kuznetsov “I think I can!”

During this time when life is weighing us down, we have a woman in our midst who is sending people up to the stars. Literally. Tricia Mack is a funny, highly intelligent, dynamic, pioneer, get it done lady who in her role as NASA’s Human Space Flight Program - Russia Director, is bridging the cultural divide between countries through connection in space. We thought everyone in AWO would enjoy meeting her and hearing what she has been up to during the COVID isolation. D: Thank you for taking time, Tricia, after your trip to let AWO members get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? T: My name is Tricia Mack. I decided I want to be an astronaut in the 8th grade. It all started in my Earth Science class. Each week I would come home completely excited about the topics we were discussing: deep sea life, volcanoes, etc. When the topic of space came up and I saw the iconic photo of Bruce McCandless in a space suit doing a space walk attached to a jetpack but not tethered to the space shuttle, I came home and announced to my parents that this is what I want to do with my life. I am fortunate to know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be.

I went to the University of Michigan and enrolled in the Aerospace Engineering Program. While there, I applied to the NASA co-operative education (“co-op”) program through the school and did not get in. I decided that I would apply directly to the Johnson Space Center, NASA in Houston. My professor doubted I could apply and get in this way, but I told him “I THINK I CAN!” I was 19 years old and not going to take no for an answer. Where there is a will, there is a way. I sent in my application and called to check the status a week later. I was told that NASA made me an offer. I will always remember saying ‘You made me the happiest girl in the whole world!’ That was 28 years ago.

I always had a fascination with Russia and when I finished university, I backpacked through Europe that following summer and just had to include Russia in my 40-day adventure. There was one hostel in St. Petersburg and one in Moscow at the time, so that is where I stayed. It was the most interesting country I visited in terms of being so different than Western Europe. I scratched the itch and didn’t think I would come back.

Fast forward and in the late 90s, NASA was building the International Space Station with our Russian partners, along with the Canadians, Europeans and Japanese. At that time, I taught astronauts how to do space walks and I was a flight controller in Houston. I had the opportunity to come for a few months at a time and so I came 3 times. I thought it was a great experience and figured that I have seen it and I have done it. Fast forward again and my friend, who is an astronaut, Peggy Whitson, asked me to come to Baikonur, Kazakhstan to see her launch on a Soyuz spacecraft to go to Station. So I paid a lot of money and I got to watch her launch. I remember thinking “This is a once in a life time experience”. Fast forward again and in 2011, I was offered a position to manage a small technical liaison office in Korolev, a suburb of Moscow at the Mission Control Center—Moscow (MCC-M). I went back to Baikonur many times before moving back to the States in 2015. This time when I left Russia, I knew I wanted to come back as the Director of our Space Station operations. And that is exactly what happened when I was selected last year to be the new director. I spent six months “commuting” between Houston and Kazakhstan for Soyuz launches and landings and then moved to Moscow in January of this year. It is a 2-year assignment and I’m thrilled to be back. It truly feels like coming home. My experience working collaboratively with Russians is very positive. We are engineers first. The safety of the crew is our first priority. We have a good working relationship with our colleagues as we share a common goal and seek to promote science on board Station. Our greatest challenge in this field is that you can’t be wrong. We need to manage risks all the time. If there is an abort, then we need to know the backup equipment is working perfectly. The Soyuz vehicle is robust, but space is unforgiving and you don’t always have a second chance. We have several review processes that weigh the risks and verify manufacturing processes before every launch to ensure any discrepancies were corrected.

D: Doing this has been your childhood dream. What has surprised you about your job? T: I always wanted to work in EVA, Extra Vehicular Activity or space walk. I worked my way up. I started as a student, instructor, a flight controller, then I cross trained so I learned everything about the space suit systems, tasks and tools, and the Space Station. Eventually, I became the group lead. After 14 years, as much as I loved it, I needed a new challenge. I love this about NASA. You can go in a lot different directions and work in different departments. Some paths are straight forward and there is a plan and you get certified. Other paths you have to blaze a trail as there is no exact path. You never know where your hard work will lead you so you have to be open to new possibilities. Sometimes, you don’t always get what you want on the first go around. I have applied for jobs and not been selected, but then other opportunities have presented themselves that I could not have anticipated. I have seen that different paths can take you to reach your goals. For example, the position in Russia in 2011 was a position I didn’t even know about. I am a huge planner, but working hard and building a good reputation opens up opportunities that are unexpected.

D: So what happens next for someone like you in this kind of position? T: That is a tough question. It was quite a challenge to get here this past year, so for the next year I want to enjoy what I am doing and begin to make some process improvements before I think about the next step. I want to enjoy the moment, then I will think about what is next. I love and believe in human space flight. It still exhilarates me. I definitely want to continue doing something within the International Space Station Program. I am confident I will find something equally as challenging, but maybe not quite as exciting as living in Russia and supporting Soyuz launches and landings.