Mesfin Melaku is an amateur astronomer whose curiosity and love for learning were inspired by NASA’s historic achievements, including the Apollo Moon landings. This passion led him to study mathematics, statistics, mechanical engineering, and aerospace engineering. He has been recognized twice as a Rising Star in Aerospace. He has always been interested in communicating NASA’s missions and discoveries to people around the world, including those in remote areas where opportunities to explore science are limited. Passionate about STEM education and outreach, he has thrived as an Astronomy Educator volunteer at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. As a SEES judge for NASA, he excelled in evaluating competitive STEM applications, showcasing his critical thinking skills. The Apollo missions shaped his vision of exploration. He is also inspired by Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician whose precise calculations helped send astronauts to space and to the Moon. He sees the best as yet to come for NASA’s programs, including plans to send humans to Mars. He advocates for collaboration and believes that the greatest discoveries are made together. Science and space exploration are tools to serve humanity and deepen our shared understanding of the universe. His journey demonstrates that curiosity and perseverance can open doors to science for anyone, anywhere. Great achievements require persistence and resilience. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s bold vision, “We choose to go to the Moon,” he reflects on how NASA did not land a man on the Moon in a single day. The Apollo program faced many challenges, including failed rockets, technical setbacks, and near disasters during missions. Yet NASA engineers, scientists, and astronauts learned from each failure, adapted, and persevered until humans finally walked on the Moon. Later missions, such as the Mars rovers, also faced multiple unsuccessful attempts before achieving success. This commitment to keep trying, learning, and moving forward shows students everywhere that even the most ambitious dreams can be achieved through persistence, curiosity, and hard work. He encourages students to explore and develop a love for STEM. NASA’s failed missions, such as the Mars Climate Orbiter and Deep Space 2 probes, are also powerful lessons. Engineers learned from these setbacks to improve future missions, showing that challenges can be turned into learning opportunities and that curiosity and perseverance can open doors to discovery. Curiosity is the engine of discovery. He hopes students everywhere, even in countries with limited opportunities, see that perseverance, imagination, and learning can lead to exciting possibilities in science and space exploration. We do not know everything, and the mind that admits “I do not know” opens the path to learning more. As Isaac Newton once said, “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore... while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” He believes that every question, every challenge, and every dream is a step toward discovery, and he invites everyone to explore, imagine, and reach for the stars. He encourages students who may not yet love science to give it a try, and hopes that young people everywhere, even in countries where opportunities are limited, see that curiosity and perseverance can open doors to discovery.