Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
Mike Massimino
As a child, Michael Massimino, nicknamed Massa, dreamed of becoming Spider-Man, but in July 1969, along with the whole world, he saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon, and forever fell ill with the dream of flying to the stars. On this path, obstacles that seemed insurmountable awaited him: Michael suffered from a fear of heights, he had poor eyesight, he failed important exams. However, perseverance and loyalty to the dream did their job: he not only managed to become a unique specialist in the field of practical astronautics by developing software for a robotic arm, but he himself flew into orbit twice, taking part in missions to repair the Hubble telescope. Moreover, today Michael Massimino is one of those who personify modern astronautics: he first invented tweeting from space and plays himself in the popular television series The Big Bang Theory. His book is a dramatic and motivating story about how a dream turns into reality, about friendship and mutual assistance, about advanced science and sophisticated technologies. And this book also talks about why humanity needs to fly to the stars. Astronauts are not born, they are made.
