Meet Barbara Nucera, ESA’s Houston Team Leader
Nucera joined ESA in 2008 as an Italian Space Agency liaison at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and has worked for the International Space Station program. Today, she is one of the ESA liaisons at Johnson, representing her agency in human spaceflight programs. She participates in boards, review meetings, and technical discussions related to the European contribution to the Gateway program. She also facilitates the exchange of information and coordination between other partner agencies.
After working for almost 20 years on human spaceflight in low-Earth orbit, Nucera was excited to embark on a new career journey and represent Europe in deep space exploration as part of the Gateway program.
“I particularly like that my role gives me the unique position of seeing both the American and the European perspectives and the responsibility to bridge between them so that we can continue to work effectively as an international team,” said Nucera.
Nucera enjoys reading, traveling, and exploring new places with her husband and five-year-old son outside of work. She credits her strong upbringing to her grandmother, who taught Nucera that she could do anything she wanted as long she had the determination and passion for it. Nucera is looking to instill the same values in her son.
This blog entry was copied from NASA’s series of profiles featuring the team behind Gateway. To read the previous features, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/in-lunar-orbit