The Rio Grande Valley has become a centerpiece when it comes to future missions to space and hopefully, one day, to Mars.

One Valley native is helping a private space company in Houston get to the moon and taking the Valley to the stars and beyond.

"Just now, looking back, thinking back to how I grew up and where I come from, it's a dream come true," Firefly Aerospace Sr. Operation Engineer Jesus Charles said.

Charles grew up in Matamoros and Brownsville and graduated from Lopez High School in 2009. He then went on to attend the University of Texas in Austin.

Now, he is a senior operations engineer for Firefly Aerospace in Texas. 

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"I would have never imagined just one, being an aerospace professional, two, working a lunar mission and just three, being given the opportunity to work with a great operations team in taking a lunar lander to the moon," Charles said.

Firefly Aerospace is an end-to-end space transportation company.

In 2021, they were awarded a mission from NASA, all part of their program called Commercial Lunar Payload Services.

The lunar lander that Charles has been helping with is called Blue Ghost. He will also be a flight director for Blue Ghost Mission 1.

"Our mission is expected to launch in mid-January. We're almost there, the mission is approximately going to take about 60 days, 45 of the 60 days are what we call the transit phase," Charles said.

He says they will spend about a month getting to the moon and then two weeks around it.  Once on the surface of the moon, they will execute 10 NASA payloads. 

Charles spoke about being a product of the Rio Grande Valley and how the 956 has been with him throughout his career. 

"Coming from the Valley, to me, means that you have to be connected back to your roots...it means we have to find inspiration in our families in the work we do every day," Charles said.

He says for any kid wanting to make it out of the Valley and do what he's doing, it's possible. 

"Anything that you want, you can get it, but you have to make it happen," Charles said.

Charles says the future is bright. 

"It's very good that we, the private companies, have the opportunity to help the U.S. get back to the moon and Firefly feels honored to have that ability and for us to do it multiple times," Charles said.

They have two more missions, one in 2026 and 2028.

Jesus Charles is made in the 956.