'It started right here.' Astronaut returns to Baldwin school where her dreams of space travel began

Lt. Col. Jasmin Moghbeli says it took years of hard work to achieve her dreams, but she will be part of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission expected to launch this summer.

Antoinette Biordi and Stephen Levine

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Mar 13, 2023, 9:27 PM

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Updated 653 days ago

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Months before launching into space, an astronaut returned to the Baldwin school she went to as a child.

Lt. Col. Jasmin Moghbeli returned Monday to Lenox Elementary School, the school from which she graduated in 1995.

Long Island's astronaut: Baldwin's Jasmin Moghbeli to command mission to International Space Station

"I first decided to become an astronaut when I was here at Lenox when I did a book report about Valentina Tereshkova," Moghbeli says.

Moghbeli spoke to students about her career and also did science experiments with them.

The NASA astronaut graduated from Baldwin High School in 2001 and eventually earned her master's degree in aerospace engineering.

She says it took years of hard work to achieve her dreams, but she will be part of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission expected to launch this summer.

"I'm about to launch into space for the first time," Moghbeli says. "So, it took nearly 30 years to make that dream come true."

Students at the school were excited to see someone who once walked the same hallways achieve her dreams.

"I think it's really cool that in about five months she's about to blast off into space," says fourth grader Gabrielle Reid.

With Artemis missions to the moon possibly in her future, Moghbeli hopes to inspire students to reach for the stars.

"I didn't get here alone, it started right here with people I met here," Moghbeli says.