Born April 5, 1950 (San José, Costa Rica)

Costa Rican-born American astronaut, physicist

While growing up in Costa Rica and Venezuela, Franklin R. Chang-Díaz dreamed of exploring space. He achieved his goal when he became an astronaut in the United States, eventually completing seven space shuttle missions in 2002 and tying the world record for the most trips in space. As the director of the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center, he conducts research on conquering the next space frontier: human flights to Mars. Chang-Díaz is a national hero in his native Costa Rica.

Inspired by "Atoms for Peace"

Franklin R. Chang-Díaz was born on April 5, 1950, in San José, Costa Rica, the son of Maria Eugenia Díaz and Ramón Chang Morales, an oil worker of Costa Rican-Chinese descent. When...