Overview

• UNAM confirmed on September 19, 2025, that Julieta Norma Fierro Gossman died at age 77, and no cause of death has been reported.
• Condolences flowed from UNAM and national figures, with President Claudia Sheinbaum praising her as an inspiring scientist and educator.
• Fierro spent decades at UNAM as an investigator at the Instituto de Astronomía and professor in the Facultad de Ciencias, researching interstellar matter and the Solar System.
• She authored more than 40 books, appeared on radio and television, created museum exhibits, directed Universum and UNAM’s science outreach office, and led the IAU’s education commission.
• Her honors included UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize, the Klumpke-Roberts and Primo Rovis awards, the Mario Molina medal, multiple honorary doctorates, and membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; family members said she “died without pain, writing her last book.”