Astronaut Leland Melvin WroteSpace Chasersto Empower Kids from All Backgrounds: 'We Are Innately Explorers' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Astronaut Leland Melvin and his new graphic novel, ‘Space Chasers’.Photo:NASA/Shutterstock; First Second

NASA/Shutterstock; First Second

Many of us knowLeland Melvinfrom hisiconic 2009 NASA photowith his two dogs, the result of “about 100 milkbones” and some light subterfuge to sneak them into NASA headquarters for the shot. But now the former astronaut, NFL player, engineer and educator is stepping into yet another new frontier as an author.

Leland Melvin’s 2009 NASA portrait with Jake and Scout.NASA/Shutterstock

NASA/Shutterstock

“We’re all role models. We’re just good ones or bad ones,” Melvin tells PEOPLE. “This book was so important for me to be taking the kids through these exercises and saying you can do it, because that was my dad for me and so many other kids, my mom for me and so many other kids. They’re both passed away now, so I’m channeling them through this book series.”

Melvin, whose late parents were both educators, said they instilled in him the value of learning — both in and out of the classroom. His dad — a language arts teacher “not an engineer or a scientist,” his son notes — once turned a former milk truck into a family camper with “$500 and my sweat equity,” which especially inspired the book’s message: “No matter where you are in life, no matter what you’re doing, with the right people in your orbit, you can do anything.”

First Second

The author particularly wants to empower kids whose journey may follow an unexpected path, just like his own. “Whoever heard of an astronaut from Lynchburg, Virginia?” he scoffed. “I never set out to be an astronaut. But whatever you want to do, you just get a process and a playbook together to do it. And it doesn’t matter if you have a degree in that thing. It doesn’t matter, because very early, I learned … whatever path you’re taking, there will be people along the way that will help you do things you never imagined doing.”

As a high school football player, Melvin got to learn that lesson firsthand. He dropped a touchdown pass with two minutes left in the game and returned to the sidelines, expecting his coach to ream him out. “He grabs my face mask, I think it’s gonna be slammed to the bench, but he says, ‘Look, I believe in you. Go go back out there and run the exact same play, but this time catch the freaking ball.’ ” The young player did just that, but this time, he caught the pass to win the game. A scout for the University of Richmond happened to be in the stands that day, and Melvin ended up getting a scholarship that set him on his path, today.

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An interior spread from ‘Space Chasers’.First Second

“And that’s the other thing this book talks about is getting a second chance,” the author adds. “People fail. We can give them another chance and let them do it, and they’ll be the best person. That’s been my whole life: falling down, getting up, getting a second chance.”

He hopes kids from all walks of life can see themselves inSpace Chasers, which features a diverse range of characters. Each book in the series will highlight a different one’s story, so readers can find one that resonates with them.

“I think it’s really critical for people to really see that; this is important,” he says. “And this could be you. This person looks like you.”

Most of all, Melvin wants to inspire that sense of awe and curiosity that comes naturally to all children, but can often fall away as we get older. “We are innately explorers. Even as children, we’re constantly asking questions about the universe,” he says. “We’re looking up. And so how do we keep that going and build future scientists, astronauts, engineers, whatever they want to be, let them know that they can do it and be part of the same team?”

He hopesSpace Chasers, in even a small way, gets kids looking toward the stars. And he knows his parents would approve of his mission, too. “They’d be proud, you know,” he says. “They’d be like, ‘There’s my boy, that’s my boy.’ ”

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source: people.com