Astronaut comes to planet Rochester
By: Jecoliah Ellis
Updated: February 25, 2008
NASA Space Shuttle Commander and Hometown Hero Pam Melroy was back in town Monday. Melroy says she always knew she wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up. Melroy says ever since she was a little girl she loved to look up at the sky. Honeoye First Grader Lydia Hall, another little girl who likes to star gaze got to meet Melroy Monday. "You just can't see the planets up close so I would like to see them really big," said Hall.
Pam Melroy says kids like Lydia are the reason she comes back to Rochester to share her space stories. "They realize I'm part of the community just like them. Hopefully that does give them the confidence that this is very much in their grasp," said Melroy.
Melroy told the kids she hopes one of them will become an astronaut and be the first to walk on Mars. If Lydia's dreams come true, it may be her.
Melroy tells News 8 if she's lucky she may get to go up to space one more time. But with only a handful of missions left, she knows she may not get to. Right now, she's excited about an upcoming project. When she gets back to Houston, she'll help with design input of the Orion, which is the next generation space vehicle.
