Join Capital City Pride, Iowa Safe Schools, the Rainbow Families of Central Iowa, and Drake University, in welcoming Peggy Whitson, Ph.D. for fireside chat at the Drake Municipal Observatory on September 22, 2023. Visitors can expect an Astronomy lesson followed by stargazing with Astronaut Whitson. The Observatory will be open to welcome guests at 7 p.m., with the fireside chat beginning at 8 p.m.. There will be the opportunity for sky viewing at dark if there are clear weather conditions. Click here to RSVP to this free event.

Dr. Whitson grew up on a farm outside the town of Beaconsfield, Iowa, with her siblings and parents, who were farmers. She decided to become an astronaut after she watched the first moon landing on television as a child in 1969. She received degrees in biology and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan and a doctoral degree in biochemistry from Rice University.

As America’s most experienced astronaut, Whitson recently served as commander on the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), the second all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), she became the first female commander of a private space mission. This added to her accomplishment as the first female commander of the ISS, the only woman to serve as ISS commander twice, and the first woman, nonmilitary chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office.

During her record-breaking NASA career, she flew on three long-duration space flights and accumulated 665 days in space, more than any other American astronaut or woman astronaut in the world!