Space3 min(s) read
Published 13:19 06 May 2026 GMT
A NASA scientist who claims to have experienced the afterlife on three different occasions has spoken out about what happened following her near-death experiences.
Ingrid Honkala’s first near-death experience was when she almost drowned in icy water as a toddler. Her second was a motorcycle accident at 25, and the third happened when her blood pressure plummeted during surgery when she was 52.
The now 55-year-old, originally from Colombia, has written a book about what she experienced in the moments following teetering on the edge of death.
Ingrid, who boasts a PhD in marine science and has worked for both NASA and the US Navy, claims that it was her first encounter with the afterlife that had the most lasting impact on her.
When she fell into the water at just two years old, rather than frantically panicking, an extraordinary sense of calm came over her.
Describing the moment Ingrid explained, "Instead of fear, a deep calm came over me.
“The panic disappeared and was replaced by an overwhelming sense of peace and stillness. It felt as if my awareness separated from my body.
“My next memories are not of the physical world, but of an expanded state of awareness.”
Although she was only an infant, she remembers feeling that, "There was no sense of time, no fear, and no thoughts. Instead, there was a deep knowing that everything was interconnected.
“I felt completely unified with life itself, as if the boundaries that normally define who we are had dissolved. It felt like being immersed in a vast intelligence filled with love, clarity, and peace,” she added.
Ingrid also explains how she managed to communicate subconsciously with her mother, who was working a few streets away.
"I remember recognising her and thinking 'that's my mum'. At that moment, there seemed to be a form of communication between us, not through spoken words, but through awareness," the scientist said.
During her subsequent near-death experiences, 23 and 50 years later, Ingrid claims that she was transported back to the same fundamental state of calm she found herself in as a child.
The most interesting thing that her experiences have taught her is not to fear death or see it as separate from life. Ingrid feels she has a greater understanding of what happens when we leave this earth and has taken it upon herself to inform and reassure others.
Speaking of her encounters with the afterlife, Ingrid said, "From that moment forward, I no longer feared death. The experience showed me that what we call the afterlife did not feel like a distant place at all.
“Instead, it felt like entering a deeper layer of reality that exists beyond our physical senses. In that state, consciousness felt vast, intelligent, and interconnected.”
The successful scientist credited these encounters with her career choice. She explained: "In many ways, my experiences also led me toward science. I wanted to understand the nature of reality through observation and research.
