Record spacewalker stays close to her roots

The history of space exploration by the United States could have been much different if Beaconsfield farm parents Keith and Beth Whitson had been a little more strict about bed times with their four children on the night of July 20, 1969.

Peggy Whitson, now 58, recalls the family huddled in their farm house living room watching intently as Neil Armstrong became the first man to step on the surface of the moon. Soon, another Apollo 11 crew member, Buzz Aldrin, joined him on the moon as Michael Collins piloted the command module Columbia alone in lunar orbit. Several hours later Armstrong and Aldrin flew the lunar module Eagle back to the Columbia in lunar orbit.

Those first minutes on the moon by two Americans left an impression on 9-year-old Peggy Whitson.

“My parents were always strict with us four kids about bed time and all that,” Whitson recalled recently after returning from her third mission aboard the International Space Station. “I distinctly remember we were all dressed and in our PJs, and we got a reprieve from going to bed so we could watch them land on the moon.”

A year later her father completed pilot training and took Peggy on a ride in a Cessna 150 airplane. It was just a hobby for Keith Whitson, but just like watching Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the lunar surface, that ride made an impression on young Peggy Whitson.

“My dad learned to fly and when he took me up I loved it!” Whitson said.

Little did she know at the time that flying over the corn fields of Ringgold County would be just the beginning of memorable flights.

Returning home

Whitson completed her third mission in space in 15 years in September 2017. Three months later she appeared in front of Bedford and Mount Ayr students to talk about her illustrious career. She waited through 10 years of unsuccessful applications to become a U.S. astronaut before she was accepted into the program in 1996.

That persistence and dedication to a goal — letting disappointment run off your back while forging ahead — was one of the main messages in her exchange with students from her hometown area.

“It took me 10 years and that is not a trivial thing,” said Whitson, who had a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan College and doctorate in biochemistry from Rice University, where she also met her husband, Clarence Sams. She turned down a prestigious post-doctoral offer at the Salk Institute in San Diego in order to accept a fellowship at the Johnson Space Center. Working there would put her closer to her dream of being an astronaut.

“Every other year there was a selection cycle and rejection. That was pretty tough. The thing that put me on the radar was spending a lot of time in Russia in a joint U.S.-Russia science program. That selection year (1996) they were focusing on having people work on the International Space Station with Russians as international partners. I had spent a lot of time in Russia and that was a tipping point.”

Later in her career she realized what an accomplishment it was to have made the cut.

“It wasn’t until I was on the selection board that I realized how lucky I was,” Whitson said. “We had 8,400 applicants and we picked eight.”

When first asked to become involved in the Russia science program, Whitson nearly balked, which could have been costly in her astronaut training program application. Taking chances, she told the students, can open doors of opportunity.

“I have been more successful than I ever imagined I could be,” Whitson said. “I think it’s mainly because I challenged myself to live a little outside what was comfortable. For example, this joint plan with the Russians, I decided to try it after first thinking I didn’t want to do it. I moved up and started doing more. From all of those challenges in life, you learn from the experience and can take that to the next step and beyond. I never dreamed of being chief of the (U.S.) astronaut office, but those kinds of things happened because I was being challenged along the way. I did things I wasn’t sure I could do.”

The little girl who went to schools in Ellston and Tingley before joining with other Ringgold County youngsters in junior high in Mount Ayr captured the attention of students in that building three months ago.

“She is a true American hero, somebody they will be reading about in history books for a long time,” said Delwyn Showalter, Mount Ayr athletic director and alternative program director. “You don’t think about somebody like that coming from Mount Ayr and Ringgold County. I think it really helps kids to see that anything is possible, especially for our female students. Obviously the sky is the limit, or not the limit in her case!”

Darla Sobotka, third-grade teacher in Mount Ayr, saw her students gripped onto every word Whitson spoke during that appearance. Whitson patiently answered each of their questions, including those about preparing meals in space and handling bodily functions.

“It was so amazing to them to get to meet a famous astronaut,” Sobotka said. “But, even more amazing was to think she attended the same school they are now attending. We were just talking in class last week about people who inspire us, and she was at the top of their list.”

Classmate memories

Joe Drake, superintendent of Mount Ayr and Bedford schools, was a classmate of Whitson’s until moving to Red Oak as a senior. Now, he’s in charge of scheduling her appearances in her hometown and at Bedford schools.

“You see a lot of amazement in the children’s eyes,” Drake said. “They want to take pictures with her. They love hearing her stories about growing up here and being in 4-H and playing sports, just like them. I remember Peggy as being a very serious student and a good athlete. She was determined in everything she did. She would have fit into the category of ‘most likely to succeed.’ You knew Peggy was going to do well in life.”

Jodie (Giles) Geist was a high-scoring forward on the 24-1 Mount Ayr six-player basketball team that played Creston in a regional final at Southwestern Community College for the right to be in the Sweet 16 at the state tournament in 1978. Whitson was a quick, tenacious defending guard.

Creston won that game, 64-56, and was victorious in one game at state before falling in the quarterfinals.

“In athletics, Peggy was the same as she was in everything she did,” Geist said. “She was a hard worker.”

To this day, as their 40th high school class reunion approaches in July this year, Whitson vividly remembers that basketball season. She went on to play field hockey, basketball and run track at Iowa Wesleyan.

“If there is one game I could do over again, that game to go to state in Creston would be it!” Whitson said.

Learning teamwork from those times in Mount Ayr came in handy later in life in her NASA career.

“It’s very much a team at NASA,” Whitson said. “We interact very closely with mission controls on the ground in the United States, Japan and Moscow. We work with teams of engineers who build the hardware and processors. I definitely think it helped to be a part of teams when I was in school, no doubt.”

The key for others finding their successful track in life, Whitson told the students, is to discover their passion.

"I try to convey that you can live your dreams," Whitson said. "But, you have to find that passion. Figure out what drives you and keeps you inspired all the time. Once you figure that out, you have to work for it. It won't be handed to you."

Numerous honors

Some of the accolades Whitson has received since her return from her last space mission have left her stunned.

She appeared on the cover of the March edition of National Geographic magazine, as the person who holds the record for most days in space (665) by a U.S. astronaut. She also is the first woman to command the space station twice, and has completed 10 spacewalks, more than any other woman in the world.

Whitson has logged 60 hours and 21 minutes walking in space. She was the first woman to serve as Chief of the Astronaut Corps.

In December, she was the guest of honor at the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs’ sixth annual Celebrate Iowa Gala at the State Historical Building of Iowa.

“Dr. Whitson has made history not only in Iowa, but the entire country, the world and even beyond,” said Chris Kramer, acting director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. “Through the years, she has remained connected to her roots by inspiring Iowans while she was in space and during numerous visits back home, even donating artifacts from her history-making career to the State Historical Building. We are honored to welcome an Iowan like Peggy back home.”

Last November, Whitson was honored at Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year awards banquet in New York. She became emotional while giving a speech at the event.

“I started out as a farm girl in Iowa,” she said, “and I dreamed of being an astronaut and an explorer. And I made it.”

Also, Whitson has been named the 2018 recipient of the Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award. She will accept that award on April 13 at the Ray Center’s All-Star Evening event.

“Peggy is an inspiration to the next generation of leaders,” said Drake University President Marty Martin. “Her groundbreaking work encourages students to challenge themselves and pursue their noblest dreams, while demonstrating exemplary humility and integrity.”

Aboard the space station, Whitson performed numerous assembly and maintenance projects, coordinated deliveries of supplies and research materials, and helped conduct hundreds of biology, biotechnology and physical science experiments.

The foundation of doing those tasks was laid in those chemistry and biology classes in Mount Ayr.

“Peggy has had so much notoriety,” said Geist, special education and transition alliance program (TAP) coordinator for Mount Ayr schools. “But, in my eyes she is no different today than that day we walked out of this high school 40 years ago. She still has her roots here, and she is the same humble, hard-working person.”

When she completes her public relations tour in the coming weeks, Whitson is not sure of her next experience.

“I haven’t really decided what I want to do when I grow up,” Whitson said, laughing.

Whatever lies ahead in Peggy Whitson’s future, she will always have the memories of looking 250 miles below at the earth as she went on spacewalks outside the International Space Station. It was a vision quite different than that first ride in her father’s Cessna 150.

“It’s such a special experience,” Whitson said. “The analogy in describing the view is like this: Imagine you lived your whole life in a semi-dark room. When you get to space and look out the window, it’s like turning the light on in that room. And on a spacewalk, now it’s like walking out onto a bright, sunny street. That is the dramatic change of the view, with the vivid colors and clarity.”

That, and the daily satisfaction of contributing directly to space exploration, is why she returned to space for a third time at age 57, when she had a comfortable and prestigious “desk job” as chief of NASA’s astronaut office.

But, comfort is not what drives this farm girl from Beaconsfield.