PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — It's not your everyday space suit. Instead, it's made up of dozens of paintings from children around the world.
And yes, thanks in part to Clearwater astronaut Nicole Stott, some of these colorful suits have been in space. Stott was a part of two Space Shuttle Missions and spent weeks on the International Space Station.
It was while aboard the ISS that she became the first astronaut to paint with watercolors while in space. An island off the coast of Venezuela inspired her work.
Now that she’s retired from NASA, Stott helped start the Space for Art Foundation.
She said its mission is to inspire and unite children around the world with space-themed art therapy.
“Mostly in hospitals, refugee centers, orphanages. We started in one hospital in Houston, and now our last suit that we created, 'Beyond,' has artwork from at least one child in 192 countries.”
After living in Houston for 20 years, Stott is back living in Pinellas County.
She’s worked with kids in hospitals and schools around the Tampa Bay area.
“I really feel like I got to go to space so I could come back to work on Earth and work on projects like this and see how we thoughtfully expand on that," Stott said.
Whether it’s working with kids or visiting with people at Booker Creek Preserve as she did this past weekend, Stott is grounded on Earth.
But she's still dreaming of what’s next. If she ever gets an invite back to space for a trip to the moon, she said she’s all in.
She also recently wrote a book about her experiences called "Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet and Our Mission to Protect It."
