." Coming from my earliest childhood years, air travel had consistently captivated me. I endured in the boonies and also the fields, so I didn't possess neighbors to go as well as have fun with. If I had not been operating, I was left to my very own devices, as well as frequently, I would only be actually astounded due to the wild animals as well as particularly, the beast of preys that I will view." To me, they stood for an independence of some kind or one more. These birds as well as the view they have-- they can consume a great deal. Therefore, coming from that aspect on, I knew I would like to be involved in air travel and also air travel." I [appreciated] all things tour, all points spaceflight. I could not get sufficient of it. I came to be an enthusiastic reader, whereas before, I wasn't a lot of a viewers. I could not obtain adequate material to read about my heroes coming from flight and also room. They became my role models and the pathway that they took entailed, at some point or yet another, a pretty extensive learning as well as dedication to carry out effectively academically, actually, or athletically. So, I threw on my own into that entire type of frame of mind." When I was actually working with the Air Force, I had the capacity to fly and also work on airplane that I will fantasize about, checking out in the journals Aeronautics Full week and Area Innovation. Listed here they are, best facing me." ... So, my occupation has been actually as close as feasible to that of a tour examination engineer. And after that, precisely the heels of being astounded through atmospherical air travel, functioning in human spaceflight has put me over the Moon.".-- Physician Donald Mendoza, Principal Designer, NASA Engineering & Protection Facility, NASA's Ames Proving ground.Graphic Credit Score: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Browse through a few of our other Images of NASA.