José M. Hernández always dreamed of going to space, and his big inspiration came when he was working in a field. He was picking sugar beets and listening to his radio when he heard that Franklin Chang-Díaz, the first Hispanic-American astronaut, was chosen to fly into space. José thought, "I want to fly in space too!" and from that moment on, he worked hard every day to make that dream come true.

José grew up in a family that traveled a lot, moving from Mexico to California each year to pick fruits and veggies. He didn't learn English until he was 12, and his family’s travels weren’t a vacation—they were all about hard work. After high school, José went to the University of the Pacific and then to the University of California in Santa Barbara on a scholarship. 

He worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he helped create a special kind of medical imaging that helps doctors find breast cancer early. He even worked on important projects to keep the world safe from dangerous nuclear materials. When José was applying to become an astronaut, he had the chance to meet Franklin Chang-Díaz, the very person who inspired him to reach for the stars. José was excited to find out they had a lot in common, and with that boost of confidence, he knew he was ready to achieve his dream!