(BLACKAMERICAWEB)  Bernard Harris is known for his extraordinary accomplishments in the space science community, especially as the first African-American to walk in space in 1995.

And all of that began with Harris’ witnessing of the historic 1969 moon landing from the Navajo reservation on which he was raised, vowing afterward to become an astronaut.

He explores his humble beginnings, pursuit of his dreams and the challenges it took to achieve them in his new book,  “Dream Walker: A Journey of Achievement and Inspiration,” released last month

Harris has a list of degrees that include specializing in internal medicine. Initially he started with NASA as part of a fellowship to practice as a flight surgeon. In 1990, he was selected by NASA to become an astronaut and within a year qualified for a space mission. Harris flew on the space shuttle Challenger in 1993 before becoming the payload commander for a 10-day space shuttle Discovery mission two years later, during which he became the first African-American man to walk in space.

After retiring from NASA a year later, Harris launched The Harris Foundation, which encourages students, teachers and parents to demand access to strong science and mathematics programs. The foundation also has partnered with the ExxonMobil Foundation to create the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camps, a free academic program for middle school students focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  The camps are held each summer at 23 colleges and universities nationally.

Recently, Harris was inducted into the 2010 Houston Hall of Fame and was a medal for entrepreneur leadership.