Nicole Stott is an astronaut and artist, as well as the Director of the Space for Art Foundation, a non-profit organization that creates large-scale space-themed art projects with children from hospitals, refugee centers, and schools worldwide. Their goal is to expand the youth’s interest in space and preservation of the planet. Nicole worked for NASA for over 27 years, serving as an astronaut from 2000-2015. She is also the author of the book, Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet - And Our Mission To Protect It, where she recounts her experience seeing the Earth from space and how that moved her to promote efforts in its preservation.
In this episode, you’ll hear about Nicole’s childhood experiences, her hobbies, and what motivated her to be interested in flying planes. She talks about her school life and why she chose to pursue a degree in Engineering Management. You’ll get insight on the processes involved in applying to be an astronaut and why Nicole didn’t get the job the first time. She cites the overwhelming feeling of awe she experiences upon seeing our planet from space. Nicole also discusses her artistic side and how the Space for Art Foundation uses art and space exploration to inspire children.
\"Art is a universal communicator. We can talk with anybody about anything if we\'re using art as the platform\" - Nicole Stott
This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:
- Revisiting our past astronaut reunions
- What Nicole\'s life was like as a child and why she was often at an airport
- Nicole\'s first flight experience
- Nicole\'s academic life and the hypotheticals she asks herself
- Where Nicole\'s passion for flying stemmed from
- Why she pursued a degree in Engineering Management
- Nicole\'s experience helping astronauts learn to fly
- Nicole’s self-doubt when she was dreaming of becoming an astronaut
- Applying to become an astronaut and the selection process
- The difference between staying in space for a few days and a few months
- Why Nicole took watercolors to space over other artistic materials
- Seeing the Earth for the first time as a bright planet in the darkness of space
- What Nicole realized about herself when she saw the Earth from space
- How Stephen Colbert affected her space experience
- How space influences artists
- The motto of the Space for Art Foundation
Connect with Nicole Stott:
Spaceship Not Required
I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.
I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.
In this podcast, you can explore, reflecting on lessons learned from life so far and from my brilliant and ever-inquisitive guests. We explore together in this very moment from right where you are--spaceship not required.
Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.
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