." From my earliest youth, flight had actually regularly captivated me. I lived out in the boonies and the farmlands, so I failed to possess neighbors to go and have fun with. If I had not been working, I was actually delegated to my personal units, and commonly, I would certainly simply be actually astounded due to the creatures and particularly, the beast of preys that I will see." To me, they exemplified a freedom of some kind or an additional. These birds as well as the perspective they possess-- they may take in a lot. So, from that aspect on, I knew I would like to be actually associated with air travel as well as aeronautics." I [enjoyed] all factors trip, all traits spaceflight. I couldn't acquire good enough of it. I became a devoted audience, whereas in the past, I had not been a lot of an audience. I couldn't receive enough material to review my heroes from air travel and also room. They became my role models and also the pathway that they took entailed, at some point or even yet another, a pretty strenuous learning and also devotion to carry out effectively academically, physically, or even athletically. Therefore, I threw on my own into that whole entire kind of mindset." When I was helping the Aviation service, I had the ability to fly and service aircraft that I will hope about, looking at in the journals Air travel Full week as well as Room Technology. Right here they are actually, appropriate before me." ... Thus, my job has been as close as possible to that of a tour examination developer. And after that, directly on the heels of being astounded by atmospherical flight, working in human spaceflight has actually set me over the Moon.".-- Dr. Donald Mendoza, Main Designer, NASA Engineering & Safety Center, NASA's Ames Proving ground.Photo Credit Report: NASA/Dominic HartInterviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos.Take a look at several of our other Faces of NASA.