Photo: NASA
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Joseph M. Acaba was born in 1967 in Inglewood, California and raised in Anaheim, also California. He attended Esperanza High School in Anaheim and graduated in 1985. Acaba hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also has a Master’s Degree in Geology from the University of Arizona. Joseph Acaba served in the US Marine Corps and worked as a hydro-geologist in Los Angeles primarily on Superfund sites. He was also involved in the assessment and remediation of groundwater contaminants. Later, he spent two years in the Peace Corps as an Environmental Education Awareness Promoter in the Dominican Republic. |
Acaba has
spent one year teaching science at Melbourne High School, Florida and
four years of middle school math and science teaching experience at
Dunnellon Middle School, also Florida.
Acaba was selected by NASA in 2004. He reported to Johnson Space Center for two years of basic training and evaluation that he completed in 2006. He was assigned to the Hardware Integration Team in the Space Station Branch. His duties included working with the European Space Agency on different technical issues related to Space Hardware. Additionally, he was a member of the Space Shuttle Branch supporting Launch and Landing Preparations at the Kennedy Space Center. His first Space Flight was STS.119 that was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched on March 15, 2009. The Mission was dedicated to International Space Station Assembly and Maintenance and Discovery delivered the massive S6 Truss Segment to the Complex as well as another set of Solar Arrays and Batteries. To outfit the external of the Station, three Spacewalks were part of the mission – Acaba performed two of those accumulating 12 hours and 57 minutes of EVA time. Discovery returned to Earth on March 28 to successfully complete the mission. In 2010, Acaba was selected as prime crewmember for the ISS Expedition 30/31 Mission launching aboard Soyuz TMA-04M in May 2012. On ISS, he will complete a 6-month mission.
Joe Acaba enjoys outdoor activities such as camping hiking, biking, kayaking and scuba diving.
Acaba was selected by NASA in 2004. He reported to Johnson Space Center for two years of basic training and evaluation that he completed in 2006. He was assigned to the Hardware Integration Team in the Space Station Branch. His duties included working with the European Space Agency on different technical issues related to Space Hardware. Additionally, he was a member of the Space Shuttle Branch supporting Launch and Landing Preparations at the Kennedy Space Center. His first Space Flight was STS.119 that was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched on March 15, 2009. The Mission was dedicated to International Space Station Assembly and Maintenance and Discovery delivered the massive S6 Truss Segment to the Complex as well as another set of Solar Arrays and Batteries. To outfit the external of the Station, three Spacewalks were part of the mission – Acaba performed two of those accumulating 12 hours and 57 minutes of EVA time. Discovery returned to Earth on March 28 to successfully complete the mission. In 2010, Acaba was selected as prime crewmember for the ISS Expedition 30/31 Mission launching aboard Soyuz TMA-04M in May 2012. On ISS, he will complete a 6-month mission.
Joe Acaba enjoys outdoor activities such as camping hiking, biking, kayaking and scuba diving.
