Alone in Mission Control: Where My Astronaut Dream Was Born

by Mario Espinosa

The image above is an AI-generated representation, but the moment it captures is very real.

It’s 1993. I’m a brand-new employee at Space Center Houston, stationed at one of the most iconic places on Earth—Mission Control. In the image above, you see a young man sitting alone in the visitor’s gallery, overlooking NASA flight controllers at work. That young man is me.

But what the image doesn’t show is the crossroads I was facing in that exact moment.

Just a few months earlier, I had been placed on academic suspension. I was living the college party life, drifting without purpose, and my grades reflected it. My academic future was uncertain. I was frustrated, confused, and unsure of what I wanted to do with my life.

That quiet morning in the gallery, before any guests arrived for a tour, I found myself alone with my thoughts. Watching the flight controllers at their consoles, something changed. In that stillness, I believe God planted a seed in my heart—a dream and an idea I had never considered seriously before. What if I pursued an education in computers? What if I could become one of those flight controllers? And—what if, one day—I could become an astronaut?

That moment, sitting in silence and awe, shifted the trajectory of my life.

Ten years after that moment, God blessed me to accomplish the first part of that dream when, in 2003, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems Technology.

Now, 32 years later, I’m working to realize the last part of that dream, To be an Astronaut. Not because it’s easy. Not because the odds are in my favor. But because the spark God placed in my spirit that day never went out. It’s been growing, refining, and preparing me for such a time as this. To stand up, stand out, and stand firm in Him and for Him (the Triune God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ).

This image may be generated by AI—but the moment, the dream, the faith, and the journey it represents are absolutely true and real.

Would you consider joining me?

If this story inspires you, I invite you to be part of the Providence One mission. I'm raising funds to help cover astronaut training, equipment, and spaceflight expenses as I pursue this dream that began in Mission Control.

🙏 Every donation, share, and prayer helps me take one step closer to space.

➡️ Click here to support my GoFundMe

Together, we can prove that faith, purpose, tenacity, and perseverance can go the distance—even to the stars.

Ad Astra Per Aspera 

To the stars, through hardship.