." From my earliest childhood years, air travel had consistently captivated me. I survived in the boonies as well as the fields, so I failed to have next-door neighbors to go as well as play with. If I had not been functioning, I was actually delegated to my very own devices, and often, I would only be captivated due to the wild animals and also especially, the raptors that I would certainly find." To me, they represented a liberty of some kind or even one more. These birds and also the view they possess-- they may take in a lot. Therefore, coming from that factor on, I understood I wanted to be actually involved in tour and flying." I [enjoyed] all things air travel, all points spaceflight. I could not obtain enough of it. I became an avid visitor, whereas before, I had not been a lot of a viewers. I could not get sufficient component to review my heroes from flight and room. They became my role models as well as the pathway that they took included, eventually or another, a quite thorough education and learning as well as devotion to accomplish properly academically, physically, or even athletically. So, I tossed on my own right into that whole form of way of thinking." When I was actually benefiting the Air Force, I managed to fly and focus on airplane that I would certainly fantasize approximately, examining in the publications Air travel Full week as well as Area Innovation. Listed here they are, appropriate facing me." ... Therefore, my job has been actually as close as achievable to that of a trip examination engineer. And after that, right on the heels of being astounded through atmospherical flight, operating in individual spaceflight has actually placed me over the Moon.".-- Physician Donald Mendoza, Main Developer, NASA Engineering & Safety And Security Center, NASA's Ames .Picture Credit Score: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Browse through a few of our other Faces of NASA.