Advertisement
Opinion

Texan of the Year finalist: Astronaut Peggy Whitson inspires American values

Astronaut Peggy Whitson is a classic American inspiration in our cynical era.

If she cared about promotion and publicity, there would be statues of Peggy Whitson across the landscape. Schools would be named for her. Her face would be on breakfast cereal boxes.

The unadorned facts of the NASA astronaut's curriculum vitae alone are impressive. But on Sept. 3, when she climbed from the Soyuz space capsule onto the terra firma of Kazakhstan, she made human. history. With a career-combined total of 665 days, she set a NASA record for time spent in space and a worldwide record for female astronauts.

She has tied the record for total number of spacewalks; been the first woman to command the International Space Station twice; been the oldest woman ever to go into space. For Whitson, the hits just keep coming. For her uncommon impact, Peggy Whitson is a finalist for the 15th annual Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year.

Advertisement

But there's so much to this Iowan-turned-Texan (sorry, Iowa) than resume. From her matter-of-fact farm girl origins to her steady determination to become an astronaut, Whitson evokes a sense of awe and patriotism that's all too rare in this cynical era.

Opinion

Get smart opinions on the topics North Texans care about.

Or with:

A heartland farmer's daughter, Whitson, 57, earned pocket money as a teenager by raising and selling chickens. The chicken money went to flying lessons: She yearned to be a pilot, to know the planet from an eagle's perspective.

President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1 this month during a ceremony with...
President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1 this month during a ceremony with NASA astronauts including Peggy Whitson (second from right). On the 45th anniversary of Apollo 17 — the last crewed mission to the moon — Trump signed the order directing NASA "to lead an innovative space exploration program to send American astronauts back to the moon, and eventually Mars," according to White House spokesman Hogan Gidley. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
Advertisement

She went on to a stellar academic career, earning a doctorate in biochemistry from Rice University. And then she went knocking at NASA's door.

It's not an easy door to crack open. As Whitson later wrote, it took her 10 years of applications and rejections to be accepted into the space program.

"The rejections will be discouraging," Whitson wrote in a letter addressed to her much-younger self as part of a "Note to Self" project created by CBS News. "But in your typical style you will just keep trying."

Advertisement

There's so much to celebrate in Whitson's achievement and perseverance. And there's so much more in the joy she finds in work, in discovery, and in the camaraderie of her scientific pursuits.

Whitson's popular NASA Twitter feed shows both sides of this remarkable woman's view toward life. There's the serious scientist, working to research new drug treatments on cancerous lung cancer and cultivating food crops aboard the space station. And there's the woman of exceptional joie de vivre (fellow astronauts call her "Space Ninja") who served as the football in a zero-gravity game of pass-and-catch and who popped out of a cargo bag as a prank on her colleagues.

In Whitson, we see an inspiring blend of so many values: confidence in American technology with a spirit of international cooperation; perseverance and acceptance; faith in hard work and a spirit of fun; self-effacing pride and humility.

We've all got ideas about contenders for Texan of the Year. Peggy Whitson ought to be on everybody's list.

What's your view?

Got an opinion about this issue? Send a letter to the editor, and you just might get published.