Astronaut José Hernández Inspires Students at UNAM

Like a story straight out of science fiction, astronaut José Hernández fulfilled his dream of traveling to space during NASA’s STS-128 mission in 2009. He shared his inspiring journey with an enthusiastic audience at UNAM during the university’s “Night of the Stars” event.

The son of Mexican immigrants and a former farmworker, Hernández described the “poetic justice” moment when his spacecraft landed in Southern California, just 100 kilometers from the fields where he once picked strawberries.

Hernández, who earned his electrical engineering degree from the University of the Pacific and his master’s from the University of California, faced a challenging path to space. After being rejected by NASA 11 times, he was finally accepted into the agency’s 19th astronaut group in 2004.

During his talk, Hernández reflected on the role of science in national progress, questioning whether governments are willing to make long-term investments in research. “Science drives a country’s economy, but governments sometimes prefer short-term solutions instead of teaching people to generate their resources,” he remarked.

He also stressed the importance of igniting scientific curiosity in young minds, encouraging students to pursue careers in engineering and astronomy at institutions like UNAM.