Best Doggone NASA Portrait Ever! [Video]
Engineer and astronaut Leland Melvin made his mark in history for NASA by sneaking his pet pooches into the photo shoot for his official NASA portrait. The portrait has quickly become viral on social media, marking one small step for man and one giant leap for canines.
Reporter Adam Aton discovered the fun photo of Melvin in his full astronaut gear getting smooched by his dogs, Jake and Scout. According to Epic Times, Aton shared the photo with his Twitter followers by giving a shout-out to Melvin with his Twitter handle @Astro_Flow.
It didn’t take long for the photo to take on a life of its own, having been retweeted over 2,000 times.
The Daily Mail reveals one Twitter user posted, “You are my favorite astronaut. I’m almost 30 years old. I’m not ashamed of what I am. Thanks for all you do!” And another tweet from @issorude_mark wrote, “You have the best astronaut photo.”
Melvin wanted to get in on the fun, so he also posted pictures from the photo shoot of Jake and Scout actually “behaving,” as he put it.
This isn’t Jake and Scout’s first time in the limelight, however. The pooches appeared with Melvin in a 2010 episode of The Dog Whisperer. According to Daily Mail, Jake was struggling with issues of being overprotective of Melvin and attempted to bite his friend’s hands from time to time. There’s been no word, however, as to whether or not Jake was able to overcome that issue.
Melvin is also not a newbie to media attention. in 1986, the Detroit Lions picked Melvin as their wide receiver during the NFL draft. He was released from the team shortly after due to a hamstring injury. His second attempt at professional football came with the Dallas Cowboys, until he pulled his hamstring yet again, ending his football career entirely.
That is when Leland Melvin decided to work for NASA in 1989. Ten years later, he was selected as an astronaut. The Daily Mail reports that Martin flew two missions on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2008 and 2009, logging close to “10 million miles in space, and 374 orbits around the earth.”
Part of Martin’s ongoing training as an astronaut involved spacewalks performed under 25 feet of water. During one of the training sessions, Martin became deaf, ending his career as an astronaut.
Martin has such a bright outlook on life, however, that each journey that comes to a close simply opens new opportunities for him.
One of those opportunities has placed Melvin as the head of “NASA Education and he is the co-chair of a White House Education Task Force to help develop the nation’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education plan,” as per the Daily Mail.
Martin is also the co-manager of NASA’s Educator Astronaut Program, through which he travels to schools across the country promoting STEM to staff and students.
Not only does Martin have a love for his dogs, Jake and Scout, he also has a heart for children, as he is the host of the show Child Genius. It is a reality-based show that follows the lives of the most gifted children in America as they prepare for a national intelligence competition.
Martin seems to be a prime example of an all-around good ole American boy with his love for football, love for education, love for children, and his obvious puppy love for Jake and Scout. Learn more about Melvin as he answers questions in the video below.
[Photo Credit: DailyMail.co.uk]
