2025 Americas Fall Summit

Mike Massimino

Mike Massimino is a former NASA Astronaut, a New York Times bestselling author, a Columbia University engineering professor, an advisor at The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, and a television personality.

After working as an engineer at IBM, NASA, and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, along with academic appointments at Rice University and at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Mike was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996. He persisted through three rejections over 7 years on his way to becoming an astronaut, including overcoming a medical disqualification by training his eyes and brain to see better. A spacewalker on the fourth and fifth Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions in 2002 and 2009, Mike and his crews traveled faster (Mach 26) and higher (350 miles) than any other astronauts in the 21st century while increasing the discovery capabilities of arguably the greatest scientific instrument ever built by a factor of 100. During the final Hubble servicing mission, Mike was faced with both success and life-threatening challenges as he performed the most intricate repair ever attempted in space. Mike was the first person to tweet from space, holds the team record for the most spacewalking time on a single space shuttle mission, and was the last person to work inside of the Hubble Space Telescope. In 2014, Mike left NASA to become a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University where he teaches two courses, Introduction to Human Space Flight and Aerospace Human Factors Engineering, which harness his years of academic and professional experience. He also teaches The Art of Engineering, a course in which all first-year engineers work on engineering projects with socially responsible themes. In addition, Mike is the faculty advisor for the Columbia student space club (the Columbia Space Initiative), and faculty director of the India Urban Works challenge. His responsibilities also include outreach to high schools throughout the United States to promote STEM education, and support of university development efforts and alumni affairs.

Mike’s book, Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe, has received rave reviews and is a New York Times best-seller. His second book, Spaceman: The True Story of a Young Boy’s Journey to Becoming an Astronaut, a young adult version of his previously published autobiography, is a National Science Teachers Association 2021 Best STEM Book Winner.

In Mike’s new book, Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible, he distills stories and insights from NASA into an actionable guide to accomplish your biggest goals. Mike reveals how to make possible the seemingly impossibl —on Earth. Written with characteristic wit and a big heart, Mike identifies ten hard-earned lessons of spaceflight and his other life experiences.

Mike is a recipient of 2 NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Columbia Alumni Association Egleston Medal, Star of Italian Solidarity (Italian Knighthood), Christopher Award for Most Inspirational Book, Long Island Reads Book of the Year Award, Columbia Outstanding Community Service Award, National Space Club Communications Award, an Honorary Doctorate from Hofstra University, and was inducted into the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame. The street that Mike grew up on in Franklin Square, Long Island has been renamed “Mike Massimino Street.”

Mike has made numerous television appearances and movie cameos, including a recurring role as himself on the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory. He was featured in National Geographic Television’s One Strange Rock, in the Netflix series Worn Stories, and in the IMAX movie Hubble 3D, and has been called the real-life astronaut who inspired George Clooney’s role in the movie “Gravity.”

Mike is a frequent guest on morning shows and late-night television including The Today Show, Good Morning America, and The Daily Show, and a guest expert on network and cable news including NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and CNBC.

As a keynote speaker, Mike uses humor and his unique storytelling ability to inspire audiences to identify the passion in their work, to use teamwork and innovation to solve problems, to provide leadership in the face of adversity and crisis, and to never give up when pursuing a goal. He also conveys messages on the importance of safety, education, and environmental awareness.