Under the motto “passions – how to discover and pursue them”, the NASA astronaut Danny Olivas gave a lecture within the scope of the American Corner@Técnico programme, on October 13, at Abreu Faro amphitheatre.

Danny Olivas captivated his audience with good morning in Portuguese and a blue NASA jacket, proving that “geeks are cool”, as he would say several times in the next hour. He shared that he is inspired by space and the future, the basis of his passion. Olivas flew on two shuttle missions and made a total of five spacewalks.

A visit with his father to the Johnson Space Centre museum led him to look beyond the “metal parts” and think about rocket breakdowns. “They might need someone to fix the rocket and that’s me” he thought, and so it happened. “I stick to two principles: work hard and never give up,” he said.

Olivas also spoke about success – which “is measured by one’s own level of personal satisfaction”, limitations and how to deal with the ever-present uncertainty: “stay focused, flexible and optimistic”.

Space tourism? NASA projects? Mars colonisation? Artificial intelligence for space applications? Is there a place for biomedical engineers? The answers came at increasing speed, “the technical solution to a challenge” called time. At the end, between handshakes, it was heard repeatedly: “thank you, Sir”.