lystn

Anna Lee Fisher '71, M.D. '76, M.S. '87 is a famous chemist, physician and astronaut and an amazing Triple Bruin with 3 degrees from UCLA. Dr. Fisher was also the 2019 distinguished UCLA College Commencement speaker. She was selected by NASA in 1978 to be among the agency’s first female astronauts. In 1983, just two weeks before delivering her daughter, she was assigned to her flight on the space shuttle Discovery, and she embarked on mission STS-51A in 1984 when her daughter was just 14 months old – making her the first mother in space. After logging 192 spaceflight hours, she returned to UCLA to get her Master’s in chemistry in 1987. She served NASA in several capacities throughout her career. In addition to serving on space missions, Fisher was the Chief of the Astronaut Office’s Space Station branch, where she had a significant role in building the foundation for the International Space Station. She also worked in the mission control center as a lead communicator to the space station. Before retiring from NASA in 2017, Anna Lee was a management astronaut working on display development for NASA’s pioneering Orion spacecraft, which will take astronauts farther into the solar system than they have ever gone. Lastly, Dr. Fisher is one of UCLA’s iconic alumni featured in its Optimists campaign. Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13 and made possible by UCLA Alumni.