Michael J. Massimino Quotes

I can't think of anything specific growing up that pointed me toward NASA at all. I was interested in the Moon landings just about the same as everyone else of my generation. But I never really thought about being an astronaut or working in space myself.

I didn't really decide that I wanted to be an astronaut for sure until the end of college.

I did not come to NASA to make history.

When I got to college, I discovered how many incredible opportunities NASA offered students pursuing a career in the space industry.

I first told my parents that I wanted to be an astronaut when I was 3 years old.

I've put a lot of my life into making it possible to fly in space at all.

Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be an astronaut.

I've always loved airplanes and flight. The space program was really important to me as a kid. I still have a photo of Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon in my living room.

I worked on all of the Apollo manned missions and a couple of Apollo unmanned missions.

My dad worked at NASA his whole career; he's a research scientist.

By the time I finished high school, I knew I wanted to become an astronomer. By the time I finished college, I knew I wanted to be part of the American space program. And that's exactly what I did.

Spoiler alert: I did not become an astronaut.

Even if my job for the day is cleaning the vents or fixing the toilet, it still feels good to be a part of the space program and advancing exploration.

I am a spacer. It is what and who I am. It is my cause and my life. I am not an enthusiast, a fan, or supporter. It is what I exist to do here on Earth. And there are many of us; some, like Elon Musk, are very high profile.

Most of us at least briefly considered answering, 'An astronaut,' when asked as children what we wanted to be when we grew up.

If my vision was good enough, I'd be an astronaut.

I think I was very interested in the space program as a kid, watching the first Apollo missions to the moon, and it's something I thought that would be a lot of, of fun and exciting and a very worthwhile job.

Two months after I got out of test pilot school, I saw an advert that said NASA was recruiting more astronauts. The best job you could have as a test pilot was being an astronaut, so I volunteered.

The space shuttle has been a fantastic vehicle. It is unlike any other thing that we've ever built. Its capabilities have carried several hundred people into space.

It's like turning the space program over to the Long Island Railroad.

Fortunately, I got called down to NASA for an interview. And one thing led to the next, and one day I got that call. I've been here about seven years now and am really enjoying it.

I actually wanted to be an astronaut, but I don't have a mathematical brain.

I didn't go into the NASA program to pick up rocks or to go the moon or anything else. I went in there because I was a military officer, and that was the next notch in my profession.

For NASA, space is still a high priority.

But even in elementary school and junior high, I was very interested in space and in the space program.