“I was too busy to be scared” Determination
Peggy Whitson, the longest American to stay in space, and the first astronaut to be named scientist officer of the International Space Station (ISS). Peggy has made some incredible accomplishments, and sometimes we tend to ask ourselves, “How did they get there? Who encouraged them? Who helped? How did they get to where they are now? How do they feel?”
Whitson was born in the state of Iowa, in the town of Mt. Ayr, February 9, 1960. She grew up on a pig farm with her mother and father, Keith and Beth Whitson. At the age of nine, Peggy saw the first astronauts to walk on the moon in 1969. That’s when Peggy realized what she wanted to be when she grew up. Peggy soon began to realize that women didn’t have that much power, But she did not give up. In 1978, NASA made their selections for the first female group to go up into space. Whitson was a senior in high school at the time. Soon, Peggy went to college
Peggy Whitson picture taken at the ISS (International Space Station in Texas)