How Inspiration for A MILLION MILES AWAY Followed God’s Call to Outer Space
By Movieguide® Contributor
Jose Hernández, a migrant worker turned astronaut, recently shared how he followed God’s call to outer space.
Hernández‘s inspirational story is portrayed in the new movie A MILLION MILES AWAY.
Part of Movieguide®’s review reads:
A MILLION MILES AWAY is an incredibly inspirational, wholesome movie for all ages. It takes a down-to-earth approach to this story of celestial ambition. Jose is a truly relatable character who will inspire viewers to realize their dreams can be achieved through hard work. A MILLION MILES AWAY has a great message for children and teenagers. The fact that the movie is filled with Christian faith and has a complete absence of offensive language makes it terrific viewing for families.
“At 10 years old, in 1972, I remember watching our rabbit-ear TV, and I saw astronaut Gene Cernan walk on the surface of the moon while Walter Cronkite narrated the moonwalk,” Hernández told the Christian Post. “And I told myself, ‘I want to be an astronaut.’ I felt a clear calling from God.”
Hernández came from a Mexican immigrant family who traveled between California and Mexico to do farm work. One of his teachers encouraged Hernández and his parents to pursue his education. He became an engineer and co-created the first image system for digital mammography. NASA rejected Hernández 11 times before they selected him to be an astronaut.
“It was my family’s effort, my wife’s contribution—everything,” Hernández told USA Today.
“My journey isn’t about one individual’s quest to turn a dream into reality,” he said. “It’s about my teacher who went to my house to convince my parents to stay in one place; it’s about my wife, who taught me perseverance and propped me up.”
“It’s about my father, who only had a third-grade education but had the wisdom to give me a powerful, five-ingredient recipe when I told him I wanted to be an astronaut,” Hernández shared. “He said: Find your purpose in life; recognize how far you are; draw a roadmap; if you don’t know how, learn, and when you think you’ve made it, you probably have to work harder.”
“I am one of less than 600 people who had the privilege of seeing our Earth from the outside. That’s an exclusive club,” he said. “To see Earth from the distance, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, Central America, you realize, ‘Wow, we’re just one race, the human race. And we’re all God’s children.’”
In A MILLION MILES AWAY, Hernández is mistaken for a janitor after NASA hires him. He told The Wrap that it’s true, but he faced the discrimination nobly.
“You can’t get mad at people. You just educate them.” Hernández said. “It’s something my mother taught me when I first complained of being discriminated against, and that was when I took tacos to school and kids made fun of me. My mom said, ‘Kill them with love.’ And I didn’t understand what she meant. I said, ‘Explain that to me.’ And she said, ‘Show him who you are in here [points to his heart].’”
Hernández is known for being one of two Latinos ever sent on a shuttle mission. But he says the movie is more about “family values” than the “plight of a Mexican immigrant.” He shared that his success is actually for the success of his children and future generations.
“I love the analogy of the monarch butterfly,” he said. “It starts in Canada and makes its way to a sanctuary for monarch butterflies in Mexico. It’s several generations that it takes to make that trip to Mexico; it’s not the same one.”
“That’s exactly what my father and I did. We made that effort so that the next generation can go farther and farther. In the movie, my father says, ‘We’re not grasshoppers. We’re all Monarch butterflies because we’re trying to have our kids go a little further than what we can.’ And that’s all we’re doing,” he said.
Movieguide®’s review for A MILLION MILES AWAY reads:
A MILLION MILES AWAY on Amazon Prime is about the first migrant farmworker ever to go on a space mission for NASA. Starring an outstanding Michael Peña as Jose Hernandez, the movie shows Jose’s hardscrabble childhood as a traveling farmworker, until a teacher reads of his dream to be an astronaut. The teacher convinces Jose’s parents to stop traveling and allow their children to flourish in a stable environment. Jose graduates college and becomes an aerospace engineer, but his dream of being an astronaut proves elusive. Can Jose’s persistence pay off? Can he balance his work with being a good husband and father?
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
