NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, a flight engineer during International Space Station Expedition 53/54, visits NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Nov. 9. He met with the Marshall team, American service veterans participating in the Wounded Warrior Project and area students, including Space Campers from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Vande Hei flew to the space station in September 2017 and returned in February 2018. During his months in space, he performed two critical spacewalks to replace the gripping mechanism and cameras on Canadarm2, and to lubricate newly installed components.

NASA Administrator Charle Bolden, Dr. John Grunsfeld, Dr. Piers Sellers, Goddard Center Director Chris Scolese and MSBR president Ms. Yang hold a meet and greet with Wounded Warriors from Fort Belvoir, MSBR Final Frontier Students and STEM Partners from Summer of Innovation local camps at Vital Signs: Taking the Pulse of Our Planet - Annual NASA reception and lecture hosted by the National Air and Space Museum and Sponsored by the Maryland Space Business Roundtable

NASA Administrator Charle Bolden, Dr. John Grunsfeld, Dr. Piers Sellers, Goddard Center Director Chris Scolese and MSBR president Ms. Yang hold a meet and greet with Wounded Warriors from Fort Belvoir, MSBR Final Frontier Students and STEM Partners from Summer of Innovation local camps at Vital Signs: Taking the Pulse of Our Planet - Annual NASA reception and lecture hosted by the National Air and Space Museum and Sponsored by the Maryland Space Business Roundtable

NASA Administrator Charle Bolden, Dr. John Grunsfeld, Dr. Piers Sellers, Goddard Center Director Chris Scolese and MSBR president Ms. Yang hold a meet and greet with Wounded Warriors from Fort Belvoir, MSBR Final Frontier Students and STEM Partners from Summer of Innovation local camps at Vital Signs: Taking the Pulse of Our Planet - Annual NASA reception and lecture hosted by the National Air and Space Museum and Sponsored by the Maryland Space Business Roundtable

“It was part of my career, but then it was also personal. I was doing it on a volunteer basis, but it was part of my work because I was bringing my service dog in training everywhere with me, which meant to work every day and to meetings at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). And I was taking the dog across the country to meetings over at Ball Aerospace; that was all part of the training of a service dog. That was an incredible time. I really enjoyed it. “The fact that I was able to do the two combined, that to me was just such an accomplishment. To some people, it could be they got permission to do it and then that’s all they focused on was the dog, but no. I had my job I had to do. I’ve always gotten a distinguished rating in my performances my entire career, and it didn't change when I was training this service dog. “It was a challenge for sure. “After I had to turn back over the service dog I trained, it was really very difficult because the dog was with me for two years, even though I knew it was for a wonderful cause. I ended up going out and getting my own dog who I’ve trained to be a therapy dog, so now we do therapy visits with veterans, elderly, and others. ” Jean Wolfe, Program Executive for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Series Program at NASA Headquarters, poses for a portrait with Bonnie, who was named for U.S. Air Force Reserve Major Bonnie Carroll, Ret., Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 at the Warrior Canine Connection in Boyds, MD. “Warrior Canine Connection enlists service members and veterans with combat stress in the critical mission of training service dogs for fellow Wounded Warriors.” Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)