Childhood cancer patients to speak with NASA astronaut Kate Rubins

NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins talked to cancer kid patients at the MD Anderson Cancer Center today about space, what does it take to become an astronaut and working hard to pursue one’s dreams.

Rubins, still aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 49, took questions from NASA’s Johnson Space Center via video link.

When asked when she knew she wanted to be an astronaut, Rubins said it’s been a dream since childhood.

“It always struck me as a dream about space,” she said. “I hope you were thinking about space while you were painting. Your spacesuit has found a wonderful home here on International Space Station.”

Future animator Tatyana was relieved to hear that Rubins had to train hard and learn a lot to accomplish tasks aboard the ISS.

“That’s kind of reassuring,” Tatyana said. “I’m learning to be an animator, and it takes a lot. I’m glad someone else has had to train hard.”

Rubins said she hopes to see some of Tatyana’s animations when she returns to Earth.

Jacob, who invented the official pose for the COURAGE spacesuit, asked Rubins what attributes an astronaut should possess, as well as what the project meant to her personally.

“Curiosity,” she replied. “You just have to be curious. There’s a whole world of discovery up here.”

As for what the project meant to her, she said she was inspired by the patients and their artwork.

“You kids have made some beautiful art, and now it’s orbiting our beautiful planet,” she said. “I was really inspired by this project and really inspired by you guys.”

Three spacesuits were created for the project. COURAGE was painted by the Houston-based patients, and spacesuits HOPE and UNITY were created at cancer hospitals in Germany, Russia, and Japan in collaboration with the European Space Agency, the Russian Federal Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Agencies/Canadajournal