DES MOINES, Iowa — Growing up in Beaconsfield, which had a population of 32 at the time, Peggy Whitson saw a lot more cattle and hogs than she ever saw of people.
Now, the U.S. astronaut has spent more time in outer space than any American and any woman worldwide.
Local 5's Eva Andersen spoke with Whitson in honor of Women's History Month.
Eva Andersen: Did you ever think from an Iowa farm you could get to outer space?
Peggy Whitson: I don’t know if I actually really believed it. I dreamed of it all those years, and I think when it became a goal for me was when I graduated from high school in 1978. That’s the year [NASA] picked the first female astronauts. And one of them happened to be a biochemist, and I was interested in biology and chemistry also and I thought hey, maybe I can do this!
I applied for 10 years after I got my PhD at every application cycle every two years or so and was rejected over the course of that ten years.
Eva Andersen: You got rejected for ten years?!
Peggy Whitson: Yes, if course during those ten years I was disappointed tremendously because I thought it was time for me to be an astronaut. But looking back, that was some of the most valuable training time I had and it matured me in a way that prepared me for much bigger roles.
That’s when I learned all these skills that I think then made me qualified to be selected as the first female commander on board the International Space Station and to become the first female Chief of the Astronaut Office. All those things helped I think shape me into a much stronger person.
Eva Andersen: Was there something always inherent in you that allowed you to say, there’s no women around, but I’m doing this? Or was it something you developed over the years?
Peggy Whitson: Well, a little bit is I don’t think I’ve ever defined myself by gender. It was always just, this is what I want to do and therefore, I’ve worked, strived to make that happen. Obviously it wasn’t an easy path, but I think my impression was all I had to do was my absolute very best and theoretically make it better than everybody else’s in the process.
Eva Andersen: What kind of connection do you still have to Iowa, and how has it shaped your career?
Peggy Whitson: Well obviously my work ethic. So I have always been impressed with how hard my parents worked and really never I guess allowed myself to live a lesser life in the sense that I give it everything. And I definitely think I learned that from my parents.
I still have the connection to Iowa, obviously. My family’s still all there in Iowa and so I go back and visit several times a year and have some farmland there because I just can’t not. Even though I don’t personally farm it, my brother does. [laughs] I still have a definite connection to Iowa. For me, it’s still home.
Eva Andersen: You’ve been looking at the world--you’ve been outside of it. How do you find that your perspective differs from other people in regards to the day-to-day drudgery of life here on Earth, especially during a Pandemic?
Peggy Whitson: I think the important thing to remember even on-board the Space Station, you know you have to clean the vents and fix the toilets over and over and over again. On board the Space Station, it was easy for me to feel like I was part of something much bigger than just myself. I could think that I am doing this for the umpteenth time because I’m helping keep the Space Station alive, I’m helping keep space exploration alive, and I’m part of that process.
I think as part of the pandemic, we have to look for that bigger picture the same way. And that bigger picture is saving lives and trying to keep as many people healthy as possible until we can get folks vaccinated so that we won’t run out of hospitalization capabilities. These are very much bigger picture goals and I think you have to keep that what’s bigger than me.
Eva Andersen: If there are young women watching this, young women in Iowa, what would you like to tell them?
Peggy Whitson: I would like to tell them that you can live your dreams; I’m proof of that. Because, you know, even a farm girl can become an astronaut. So you can become anything that you want or dream of. And it does require a few things. Number one, it requires you to find a passion. You have to know what it is that you want. You have to know what drives you and motivates you. And number two, you have to work really, really hard. And it will happen.