First “Space Painter” Inspires With Art

Nicole Stott calls herself the Artistic Astronaut — and for good reason. She’s the first person to paint in space.

Stott was in the NASA astronaut corp and flew in space for over 100 days, flying on shuttle and spending time on the International Space Station. She took a small watercolor set up to the station with her to keep busy during downtime

Back here on Earth, Nicole uses art to inspire the next generation of scientists and space explorers using it as a springboard to talk about all the cool tech in space and what’s ahead for space exploration. She even joined the Space Suit Art Project, a collaboration with kids battling cancer to create a flight suit made with their art. Stott says it helps them think about something other than their treatment, and helps them realize they’re part of something much bigger, something out of this world.

So who inspired Nicole Stott? Click play on the player above to find out.