Journey to a farmer's universe

From a farmer who earns his living by working as a hired laborer, Jose Hermandez has made a constant effort to get his engineering degree and become an American astronaut.

Born in Stockton, California, Jose Hermandez's childhood of the United States is closely linked to moving between Mexico and the United States as a rented farm with his family.

'I am a typical migrant farmer. Although I was born in America, my parents are immigrants. Each year we returned to Mexico for 3 months and returned to the US for 9 months, when the harvest season in San Joaquin, California Valley began , " Hermandez told Space.com.

When a high school teacher of Hermandez tells his parents that he and his siblings need to stay long in one place, they can study well, the family of Hermandez decides to settle in California. .

Hermandez flew into the International Space Station
August 2009 with Space Shuttle Discovery. (Photo: NASA)

Hermandez felt lucky because he saw the final stage of the Apollo space program. He watched the television program reporting the last moon expedition with a manned spaceship in 1972.

'I remember quite clearly the scene of Gene Cernan walking on the moon and feeling extremely excited after watching the image. That's exactly what I want, I wish to be an astronaut, " Hermandez recounted.

The young Hermandez persevered in pursuing that goal. He obtained his engineering and master's degree in electrical engineering before applying to the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) in 2001. Although he was not hired as an astronaut, he still went to work at Johnson Space Center. in Houston, Texas, as an engineer. Hermandez constantly trained the necessary skills of an astronaut, such as learning to swim and learn Russian. In the astronaut's recruitment in 2004, he succeeded.

'That's the best call I've ever received ,' remembers Hermandez recalling that NASA announced he would become an astronaut.

After training for several years, Hermandez flew to space in August 2009 on the flight STS-128 of space shuttle Discovery. During this flight, he and other astronauts took the equipment to the International Space Station.

Hermandez astronaut retired from NASA in 2011. He returned to California and found everything changed so much. The crisis of mortgage settlement makes the life of the community here strongly disturbed, with the unemployment rate double the national average.

'Our representatives in parliament do nothing to help the community. So the people here suggested that I run into parliament , " Hermandez said.

Now, the former astronaut is working on a campaign to become a representative of the 10th county of California state. If elected, he will make efforts to create jobs and contribute to building the country's space policy.