." Coming from my earliest childhood years, tour had regularly astounded me. I lived out in the boonies and the fields, so I didn't have neighbors to go and play with. If I wasn't operating, I was actually left to my own devices, as well as typically, I would simply be mesmerized due to the wild animals as well as especially, the beast of preys that I would certainly find." To me, they exemplified an independence of some kind or even another. These birds as well as the perspective they possess-- they can easily consume so much. Therefore, coming from that factor on, I understood I desired to be actually associated with trip and also aeronautics." I [taken pleasure in] all factors tour, all points spaceflight. I couldn't receive enough of it. I came to be an enthusiastic viewers, whereas in the past, I wasn't much of a reader. I couldn't receive enough product to read about my heroes from tour and room. They became my role models and the course that they took included, eventually or one more, a quite rigorous learning as well as devotion to carry out properly academically, literally, or even athletically. So, I tossed on my own in to that whole entire sort of way of thinking." When I was actually working for the Aviation service, I had the capacity to fly and also focus on aircraft that I would certainly dream around, checking out in the journals Air travel Week as well as Space Modern Technology. Listed below they are, right facing me." ... Thus, my career has actually been as close as achievable to that of an air travel test developer. And then, directly on the heels of being actually captivated by atmospheric trip, operating in individual spaceflight has set me over the Moon.".-- Doctor Donald Mendoza, Main Designer, NASA Engineering & Safety Center, NASA's Ames .Graphic Credit: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Visit several of our other Images of NASA.