If ever one’s career inspires young Iowans to root…and bloom…it would be astronaut Peggy Whitson. But nine-year-old Whitson didn’t know what her future held as she watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon in 1969 and kindled her space aspirations.
“The future holds unlimited possibilities for everyone,” Dr. Whitson recently told a crowd of more than 1,000 listeners – many parents and grandparents – at Iowa Farm Bureau’s 100th annual convention. “Whatever your goals are, set them high, and enjoy the journey getting there.”
Attention, young scientists: the sky is the limit!
Whitson certainly followed her own advice – her journey as a biochemist and astronaut hit epic heights.
“When I graduated from high school, it was the first year they picked female astronauts,” she recalls. “That’s when I realized my interest in biology and chemistry might be something that would allow me to become an astronaut. But it didn’t happen overnight.”
Since then, Whitson has broken several records: She has more days in space than any U.S. astronaut and more space walks than any female. She was the first woman to command the International Space Station and first woman to serve as Chief of the Astronaut Corps. During her distinguished career, Whitson contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and earth science. Talk about a great career in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Math.
Whitson a STEM star before STEM was cool
STEM activities came naturally to Whitson. Growing up on her parents’ 400-acre farm in southeast Iowa, Whitson has fond memories of showing calves for 4-H, helping her dad on the family farm and high school science. She took her love for science to Iowa Wesleyan University in Mt. Pleasant, where she met an awesome mentor – biology professor Dolores P. Wilson – and graduated with degrees in biology and chemistry.
After earning her Ph.D. in biochemistry later at Rice University, it was off to NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration) for a variety of biochemistry jobs and research.
Whitson’s Iowa ingenuity shines brightly
Whitson was thrilled to join the Houston team and escape Iowa winters – ha! Then…her NASA job took her to Russia’s cold environs where she was tasked to set up a joint science program instead. Disappointed her goal to be an astronaut was beyond reach for the next 10 years, Whitson worked harder.
She began to recognize her journey was as important as her goal. “You just prove you can do it,” she added. “I spent a lot of time in Russia, and that‘s actually where I developed a lot of leadership experience…I learned to negotiate” and adapt, she said. Whitson also credited her farm background in teaching her lessons in resilience and teamwork, not to mention how to find solutions for impossible problems.
Down-to-earth skills take her out of this world
Well NASA noticed those skills and leadership.
In 1996, Whitson was chosen for the astronaut program and made her first space flight in 2002. In fact, she was the first rookie astronaut to be sent to the International Space Station. And…her Iowa background came shining through yet again on her first space flight.
“While my dad was growing soybeans here on earth, I was growing soybeans in space,” Whitson chuckled as she discussed her experiments under no-gravity conditions. “I had pods before he did, but he got more per acre.” Whitson loved her scientific investigations and comparing notes on yields, growing conditions and more.
Whitson tackled challenges head on
Turns out her dad’s common sense know-how came in handy in unexpected ways.
“On the farm, you have to fix a problem, but you can’t spend two hours driving to get a part. My dad used to say that wire and a pair of pliers could fix anything,” said Whitson, noting the similarity to the space station’s remoteness. “Being adaptable is an important part of being an astronaut, same as being a farmer,” she said. “Everything requires you adapt – fix it, work around it, deal with it. That kind of adaptability really helped me being successful in space.”
She points to one time when “we were re-deploying a solar array that tore…it’s paper thin. There was no way it was going to retract. So we sent a guy out and fixed it with wire and pliers…and tape,” she explained. “A resilient team can solve impossible problems. You just have to fix the problem.”
Whitson learned plenty from her dad as well as other mentors such as Dr. Wilson.
Her mentors shaped this future role model
So it’s no surprise Whitson has become a role model herself. When being inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame last August, Whitson’s acceptance remarks focused on how valuable and encouraging her own role models were. “Mentors make all the difference,” she noted. “Thank you for making my road easier…and for making other women’s easier too.”
Whitson’s advice to students with aspirations to be in the space program boils down to this:
- Motivation. “Find what motivates you in fields of math, science or engineering,” she said. “It might take awhile to get there. You need to be an expert.
- Work. “One of the things astronauts excel at is teamwork,” Whitson said, adding that collaboration gets the job done.
- Push yourself. “Do more than just what’s comfortable” and challenge yourself to new experiences to find your capabilities, she said.
“I’m proud of the teamwork that NASA does, and I encourage young people to be part of it,” Whitson said. The collaboration of “15 different countries built the space station which demonstrates what we are capable of as a world community. The biggest thing you get out of seeing the earth from space is what we have here, and what it means” to be such a small part of what our galaxy happens to be.
Mission accomplished, amazing Peggy Whitson!
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