It is the dream of almost every kid: look up in the sky, jump into your very own spaceship and race among the stars chasing adventures.  I still remember when on April 12, 1981, with family and friends we gathered around in our living room to witness on TV the first launch of the Space Shuttle; I had dreams for days of being one of the astronauts on that rocket.

Ultimately, my career took a very different path but my fascination with stars, planets, and space technology never disappeared. To this day, every time I pick up my daughter in school and I ask her about her day in her second-grade class, one of my questions is if she did any astrophysics.  Naturally, I get a weird look every time.