A former NASA astronaut who has made it her mission to promote the healing power of art and the need to protect our planet has inspired a new, limited-edition collectible with its own complementary cause.
Nicole Stott, who was the first person to paint with watercolors in space, returned from the International Space Station (ISS) with a greater appreciation for saving our planet. She also had an idea for how to encourage pediatric cancer patients by involving them in a worldwide space art project.
Now another creative effort has embraced Stott’s work to inspire a new generation to take up space.
(Image credit: NASA)
The 65,000-member Space Hipsters group on Facebook on Saturday (Jan. 25) revealed Stott as the latest subject of their “Signature Edition” space patch series. Sales of the embroidered emblems benefit Taking Up Space, an organization that has created a 36-week science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum and organizes trips for middle-school-age Native American girls to attend Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Related: How NASA’s Nicole Stott taught ‘Space Cadet’ actors what astronauts ‘are really all about’ (exclusive)
Stott’s patch design depicts her outreach efforts, as well as own space history.
“The design attempts to convey something of the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience,” said Chris Spain, who arranged for the production of the patch, “incorporating her trademark patchwork spacesuit astronaut floating above Earth with a stylized representation of the ISS in the background.”
As the founding director of the Space for Art Foundation, Stott and her team have arranged for children diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening diseases to paint squares of cloth, which are then sewn together to form unique, colorful outer layers of astronauts’ flight suits and spacesuits. Since 2016, the global project has resulted in eight garments, of which four have traveled to and from the station.
“The messages in the border reflect her desire to inspire peoples’ appreciation of our role as crewmates on Spaceship Earth,” said Spain.
Stott’s patch reads: “Back to Earth — Our Planetary Spaceship” and includes the hashtag “#CrewNotPassengers.” The inscription borrows from the title of Stott’s 2021 book, in which she shared stories from her own spaceflights, as well as the insights of scientists and activists who are working to solve our greatest environmental challenges. Stott ultimately found that by living our lives like a crew in space, we can all find the power to respect our planetary home.
Stott’s Signature Edition patch is completed by her autograph, which is sewn into the design. Further, the thread color used for the signature differentiates the three versions of the patch:
- A limited edition of 50 “gold” patches with Stott’s facsimile signature embroidered in metallic gold thread and individually-numbered display cards, each hand-signed by Stott.
- A limited edition of 100 “silver” patches “signed” in silver metallic thread. They also come on numbered cards autographed by Stott.
- There is also an open edition patch that lacks metallic thread and comes without a display card. Stott’s signature on the patch is sewn in white thread.
(Image credit: Space Hipsters)
The patches are available for donations to Taking Up Space of $75 for each gold edition, $50 for silver, and $15 for the open edition. There is a limit of one gold and two silver patches per person.
There is also a high-quality 4-inch (10-centimeter) vinyl sticker of the open edition design available for $3 as an add-on to patch pledges. Details on how to donate can be found on the Space Hipsters Facebook group.
Stott’s patch is the sixth entry in the Space Hipsters series. The group previously produced emblems celebrating Apollo veteran Fred Haise (2022) and shuttle astronauts Hoot Gibson (2022), Mike Mullane (2023), John Herrington (2023), and Eileen Collins (2024).
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