mike massimino

Mike Massimino is a former NASA astronaut and mechanical engineer who transitioned from space exploration to academia, media, and public speaking, sharing lessons on teamwork, perseverance, and problem-solving. After being selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 1996, Mike Massimino went on to participate in two pivotal Space Shuttle missions, STS-109 in March 2002 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia and STS-125 in May 2009 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, both focused on servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. During these missions, Massimino logged a remarkable 571 hours and 47 minutes in space, including 30 hours and 4 minutes across four spacewalks. He further made history during STS-125 as the first person to use Twitter from space.

His expertise and engaging personality led him to become a New York Times bestselling author with his critically acclaimed book, ‘Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe,’ released in 2016. Leveraging his unique experiences, Massimino has become a recognized media personality, regularly appearing on television and podcasts. He held a recurring role as himself on the hit CBS series ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and has been a frequent guest on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s ‘StarTalk.’ His contributions to science communication extend to hosting the Science Channel series ‘The Planets and Beyond’ (2017-2018) and its online companion, ‘Ask the Astronaut,’ as well as hosting the network’s live coverage of the total solar eclipse in 2017. In 2022, Massimino lent his voice talents to the animated film ‘Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe’ in the role of NASA Launch Control.

Most recently, he expanded his literary contributions with the release of his second book, ‘Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible,’ in 2023, continuing to share his insights on teamwork, perseverance, and problem-solving drawn from his unparalleled career.