From 4-H to outer space -- this farm girl has logged more days in space than any woman in history

Whitson credits 4-H for helping her build confidence.
(NASA photo via Successful Farming)

From 4-H to outer space, female superpower Peggy Whitson is doing it all. "Before Dr. Peggy Whitson became America's most experienced astronaut — accumulating 675 days in space between her three NASA long-duration space flights and the Axiom Mission 2 — she was a farm girl in southwest Iowa and a member of the Beaconsfield Bomberettes 4-H Club, reports Lisa Foust Prater for Successful Farming. "During her 4-H days, Whitson was involved in projects including home furnishings, sewing, and baking and was selected to present two speeches at the Iowa State Fair. Whitson told Prater, "One was on how you dry flowers, and the other was on how to make dinner rolls all different kinds of ways. I remember the title of that one was called, 'Riot of Rolls.'"

Whitson credits her 4-H experiences with giving her courage and confidence. Prater reports, "Whitson says she wants to encourage today's students to follow their dreams. 'I grew up on a farm, and I had a dream of doing something that I didn't have any idea how to do, how to go about, how to accomplish. . . . I didn't become an astronaut just because I wanted to do it. It took ten years of applying and rejections and hard work, and I learned a lot along the way. . . . It's really important that you know your path isn't always a straight line to your goal, and that you have to work to achieve that goal. . . . That also means you might have to fail now and then because you'll push your limits."

Whitson now works for Axiom Space
(Photo via Successful Farming)

"She also says it's OK if kids don't know exactly what they want to do," Prater writes. Whitson told her, "I think it's important to expose yourself to as many different avenues out there as possible, because you might not know what your dream is. . . . It's important to look out there and see what's going on." Prater adds, "Whitson currently serves as an astronaut and the director of human space flight for Axiom Space, where in May 2023 she became the first female commander of a private space mission."