Former Connecticut woman now living dream of working on NASA moon mission NBC Connecticut [Video]

Jackelynne Silva-Martinez, also known as Jacky, was born and raised for most of her adolescence in Cusco, Peru. 

“It was a lot of fun activities growing up there, going to cultural sites every weekend and learning what we had in the past,” Silva-Martinez said.

Early on, Silva-Martinez remembers her parents exposing her to different educational opportunities. Her mom was a business administrator and her dad a math and physics professor. 

“It was a lot of different activities that was giving me the idea that I want to do something related to science, in general. I really didn’t think I’m going to work in space because we didn’t have that over there,” she added. 

What didn’t seem like an opportunity at the time, was right around the corner. At 15 years old, Silva-Martinez moved to New Jersey where she finished high school and attended Rutgers University. She recalls working with a …