L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 L'Italo-Americano O ne morning las t week I explained to my five-year old daughter that an as tronaut w as going to visit my school. In her excited voice she asked, "Does this mean you are going to the moon?" I immediately replied, "Daddy will only go to the moon with you." After listening how- ever, to Astronaut Mike Mas- simino's adventures, I hope that my daughter in the future will consider a career with NASA, so she can at least experience what only a select few have, the won- ders of space. Michael J. Massimino arrived at PS 126/Manhattan Academy of Technology in Lower Manhat- tan, to talk about his career as an astronaut. Mike, dressed in his blue space shuttle flight jacket, has spent 571 hours and 47 min- utes in space. The tall 6' 3" astronaut participated in two shuttle missions; both assign- ments required him to service the Hubble Space Telescope and he is credited with being the first person to tweet from space. From a computer projector, Massimino (aka Astro Mike) showed his young audience pic- tures from his early days living in Franklin Square, New York to his selection as a NASA astro- naut in 1996. MAT students viewed a picture of Mike as a child, dressed in an astronaut costume that his mother had made. In the photo he is clutch- ing a Snoopy toy, the same toy that went along with him in his Space Shuttle missions (2002 & 2009) and currently resides on a book s helf in his office at Columbia University. His Snoopy astronaut toy is a symbol to a lifelong dream. The adorable picture, taken a month shy of his seventh birthday was on the same day Mike witnessed Buzz A ldrin and N eil A rm- strong's giant leap into history in 1969. The memorable event was life changing for Massimi- no, and he has dedicated his entire life to planetary science and astronomy albeit retiring from NASA in 2014 to become a full-time professor at Colum- bia University. These days the fifty-five- year-old, married father of two as well as author of Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Uni- verse, shares his life experiences with students of all ages. In his talk at PS126/MAT, he empha- sized to students the importance of getting goo d grades and studying hard. "Math and sci- ence were my favorite subjects," s aid M ike and his mes s age "never give up on your dreams" was more than just the usual cliché that is associated with invited guests when speaking at school assemblies. It sounded much more per- sonal, for Massimino was reject- ed three times by NASA despite graduating from Columbia Uni- vers ity w ith an Engineering degree and earning four advanced degrees from (MIT) Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology. He explained to over a hundred middle school students, "I could not control the outcome but I could control the effort" and with that he proudly said, "I went on my fourth interview not knowing what would happen and I was finally accepted to the NASA Space Program." His remark led to clapping from teachers and students along with a few faint cheers in the background. As tr o Mike's relentless approach to become an astronaut reiterated to stu- dents the importance of how rejection builds character and perseverance leads to success. Once Mike completed his twenty-minute presentation with a video from his spacewalk on the Hubble Telescope, which led to a few "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd, he welcomed ques- tions. A couple of the student ques- tions were what we all generally think about w hen w atching astronauts in space. How do they go to the bathroom? Astro Mike, without hesitation, explained, "We urinate in a tube and from there the liquid is filtered through a machine and recycled into drinking water." I was expecting him to react with laughter and tell everyone that what he just described was all a joke but apparently it is true. The number 2, on the other hand is more aligned to what we ALFONSO GUERRIERO JR. Astronaut's journey lands with students do on earth with more prudence in s pace. "There is a s mall potty" Mike said making a circle with his fingers to demonstrate the opening, "Afterwards the waste is tightly sealed and car- ried with other garbage in a cap- s ule that burns up into the atmosphere." Aside from students probing the details of w hen "nature calls" Cindy, an eighth grader, inquired about life in other solar systems to which the retired Astronaut responded, "I believe there is life in other galaxies, but I do not believe any aliens have ever vis ited us on earth." Thankfully there were no ques- tions to the recent pseudo-sci- ence claim that "the earth is flat." Massimino's insight about space and personal triumph fas- cinated students. Another one of Mike's achievements in space was completed when he brought the Sicilian flag. In 2002 on the Space Shuttle Columbia he dis- played the flag as a way to rec- ognize his Italian-American her- itage and to honor his grandparents who were from Palermo and Catania. In the same mission he treated his crew members to biscotti, baked by an Italian friend. In 2009, the 400 th anniver- sary of Galileo's telescope was celebrated in the science world and Astro Mike aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis brought a repli- ca of Galileo's telescope. "That was a very important moment for me" said Massimino. He has received numerous Italian- American awards throughout the US for his outstanding accom- plishments. One of his first awards was a scholarship as a high school stu- dent in Long Island, NY from the Order Sons of Italy in Amer- ica (OSIA). Mike, the grandson of Sicilian immigrants, under- stood the concept of hard work and struggle from his cultural background that carried over to his professional career. Against his own odds, Mike even sur- pris ed hims elf to w hat he achieved. "Look, I received average grades in school," Mas- simino said to the students, "I am afraid of heights, am not the best swimmer and my eyesight is poor all things that do not make an astronaut, but I wanted nothing more than to be an astronaut and go to space — so never give up on your dreams." During the Columbus Day Parade, he was one of the hun- dred Italian-American authors invited to march in the celebra- tion and, once again, was very proud of his cultural identity. As one of his former high school teachers said, "Michael presents the positive image that we as Americans of Italian heritage want the public to see." When I arrived home later in the day, I showed my daughter Daddy's picture with Mike Mas- simino. She stared at the photo, and looked puzzled and then said, "Where's his helmet and astronaut costume, and why isn't he on the moon?" Michael J. Massimino (aka Astro Mike) became a NASA astronaut in 1996. Photo: spaceflight.nasa.gov LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS

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