." From my earliest childhood, flight had actually consistently spellbinded me. I endured in the boonies as well as the fields, so I didn't possess neighbors to go and have fun with. If I had not been functioning, I was actually delegated to my own gadgets, and also often, I will merely be actually spellbinded due to the animals as well as specifically, the raptors that I will observe." To me, they represented an independence of some kind or an additional. These birds and also the viewpoint they possess-- they can take in a great deal. So, from that aspect on, I recognized I wished to be actually involved in air travel as well as aviation." I [appreciated] all traits flight, all things spaceflight. I couldn't acquire enough of it. I ended up being an avid viewers, whereas in the past, I had not been a lot of a reader. I could not obtain sufficient product to check out my heroes coming from flight and also space. They became my role models and the path that they took entailed, at some time or yet another, a pretty strenuous education and commitment to doing well academically, actually, or athletically. Thus, I threw on my own in to that entire kind of mindset." When I was actually helping the Aviation service, I had the ability to fly as well as focus on airplane that I will hope around, examining in the publications Flying Full week and Room Modern Technology. Right here they are, ideal in front of me." ... So, my occupation has actually been as close as possible to that of a trip test developer. And afterwards, exactly on the heels of being spellbinded through atmospheric air travel, functioning in human spaceflight has placed me over the Moon.".-- Dr. Donald Mendoza, Chief Developer, NASA Engineering & Safety Facility, NASA's Ames Research Center.Image Credit Report: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Browse through several of our various other Faces of NASA.