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#476: Mike Massimino stared in disbelief at his TV. The date was July 16, 1969, and he marveled as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.\nAt that moment, he knew he wanted to become an astronaut. He was six years old.\nBut as Mike grew older, he developed more \u201crealistic\u201d dreams. After all, every kid wants to become an astronaut. The chances of making it are incredibly slim. He went to a local college, studied engineering, and took a job at IBM.\nBut he couldn\u2019t shake the tiny voice inside that said \u2013 \u201cwhy not try?\u201d\nSo Mike upended his life. He enrolled in a Ph.D. program at MIT, and then proceeded to fail the qualification exam so badly that his professors gently suggested that perhaps a doctorate isn\u2019t right for him.\nHe battled to pass the exam on his second attempt, and went on to teach at Georgia Tech, from where he repeatedly submitted applications to NASA for their astronaut candidate program \u2013 which they called \u201cas* can.\u201d\nHe was thrilled when he finally received his acceptance \u2013 until he learned that he needed 20/20 vision. At the time, NASA required astronauts to have naturally 20/20 eyesight, without surgery.\nSo he sought out a doctor to help him re-train his eyesight.\nThen he learned that he\u2019d need to pass a swim test. He was in his 30\u2019s and had never swum. \u201cCan\u2019t I just take a math quiz?,\u201d he joked.\nBut he \u2026 didn\u2019t let that sink him. (Pun intended).\nIn today\u2019s special episode, former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino explains how anyone \u2013 including you \u2013 can take your own moonshot.\n\nFor more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode476\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices