The scientist known as the “space mechanic” administers to both our future and past in this breathless memoir of his journey from Ecuador to NASA and beyond.

Elio Morillo’s life is abruptly spun out of orbit when economic collapse forces his family to flee Ecuador for the United States. His itinerant childhood sets into motion a migration whose momentum will ultimately carry Elio to the farthest expanse of human endeavor: space.

Overcoming a history of systemic adversity and inequality in public education, Elio forged ahead on a journey as indebted to his galactic dreams as to a loving mother whose sacrifices provided the ground beneath his feet. Today, Elio is helping man NASA’s mission to explore Mars and promoting the future of human innovation—from AI and robotics to space infrastructure and equitable access.

The Boy Who Reached the Stars is both a cosmic and intimate memoir spun from a constellation of memory and intrepid curiosity, as thoroughly luminous as the stars above.