Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin is working to help the next generation reach the exact same lofty heights that he did.Melvin, a retired NASA astronaut, finished 2 space shuttle objectives to the International Space Station throughout his tenure, one in 2008 and the other in 2009. However in the years considering that then, Melvin has been hard at work following in his moms and dads footsteps. Seeking to the example set by his parents, who were both educators, Melvin informed Space.com, hes been getting in touch with youth worldwide through a series of totally free online classes he teaches with the platform Varsity Tutors. “I think the most satisfying thing that I have actually obtained from flying in space is, you know, returning and empowering other people to think that they can do this, too,” Melvin said.Melvins next Varsity Tutors class, called “Your Astronaut Questions, Answered,” will occur on Dec. 27. Related: How Leland Melvin went from the NFL to area (unique video)”Im just attempting to honor her tradition, since she was a school instructor,” Melvin said about his late mom. “I consider, you know, the kids that were trying to motivate the little women … My moms looking now; shes happy. Shes happy that Im attempting to continue her tradition.” Melvin shared that he returned to his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia, and “people seek me out in my hometown to tell me, not that, Hey, youre a great astronaut, … they tell me that Your daddy taught me or Your mom taught me.” He also shared the story of getting home from one of his spaceflights and attending a parade in Houston. Melvin shared that he was on a fire truck with previous astronaut Robert Kirby in the parade, and “he taps me on the shoulder and points back to these two little boys, two little African American boys with their dad, and they both have on … orange pumpkin fits. And their daddy points, taps them and states, Look right there,” Melvin said. Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin reads to 3rd and very first grade trainees from the book “The Moon Over Star” at Ferebee-Hope Elementary School in Washington, D.C. while functioning as NASAs associate administrator for education in 2011. Melvin retired from NASA in 2014. (Image credit: Carla Cioff/NASA)”It was practically as though the daddy injected rocket fuel into their little bodies, because they just began spinning, they saw someone who appeared like them. They had on their flight fits, we had on our flight matches. And it was instantly among these minutes where we locked eyes and we made it mission possible for those kids,” he said.Melvin shared some more examples of times when hes seen the power of inspiration with his really eyes. He also revealed how impactful it has actually been that hes been able to share these stories of area and science with underrepresented communities and kids. For example, he talked about a school group with which he had the ability to share a song beamed back from Mars.”These kids,” Melvin said, “theyre brown and black kids that historically have been underserved, underrepresented, no access to opportunity and a lot of times no belief in themselves … We had the ability to impart that belief in them through that moment.” “Breaking down all those things that can help them see the pathway is so crucial. So crucial,” Melvin stated. “We desire kids to dream. And in those dreams, they will resolve the problems to saving our planet, to assisting our climate, to bring us together.”Email Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Previous NASA astronaut Leland Melvin is working to help the next generation reach the very same lofty heights that he did.Melvin, a retired NASA astronaut, finished 2 area shuttle missions to the International Space Station throughout his tenure, one in 2008 and the other in 2009. Related: How Leland Melvin went from the NFL to space (unique video)”Im just attempting to honor her tradition, due to the fact that she was a school teacher,” Melvin stated about his late mom. Melvin shared that he was on a fire truck with previous astronaut Robert Kirby in the parade, and “he taps me on the shoulder and points back to these two little boys, 2 little African American young boys with their father, and they both have on … orange pumpkin suits. Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin checks out to third and first grade students from the book “The Moon Over Star” at Ferebee-Hope Elementary School in Washington, D.C. while serving as NASAs associate administrator for education in 2011.