Nicole Stott: American engineer, retired NASA astronaut, artist, and author

In this milestone episode, we had the honour of speaking with Nicole Stott, a retired NASA astronaut, artist, and author. Nicole shared her inspiring journey, including her space missions on ISS Expedition 20 and 21, and STS-128 and STS-133. We explored her unique experiences, such as participating in the first live tweet-up from space and painting with watercolour in microgravity. Nicole also discussed her post-NASA work, including her book "Back To Earth" and her co-founding of the Space for Art Foundation. Her story is a testament to the power of persistence and the importance of inspiring the next generation of space enthusiasts. OUTLINE: Here's approximate timestamps for the episode. 00:14 Intro to Nicole Stott 01:00 Episode 100/how Ben and Nicole met 02:35 Impact of astronauts 05:27 Females in space 10:00 Favourite mission? 13:32 Painting in space 16:50 Role of art and creativity in space 19:40 Polaris Dawn & SpaceX/Public Private Partnerships 24:00 Artemis 27:20 Bringing benefits of space 28:05 "Back to Earth" https://www.npsdiscovery.com/book-back-to-earth 31:44 Seeing Earth from space 35:40 Sharing Experiences 37:10 Blue Origin's vision for the future 38:48 Cosmic perspective 41:37 Final thought from Nicole - "Stay curious!" 44:54 Wrap up and socials Connect with Nicole Stott: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astro_nicole & https://www.instagram.com/spaceforartfoundation/ Website: https://www.npsdiscovery.com/ X: https://x.com/Astro_Nicole Stay connected with us! Use #Astroben across various social media platforms to engage with us! Youtube: www.youtube.com/@astrobenpodcast Website: www.astroben.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astrobenpodcast/ X: https://x.com/Gambleonit Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@astrobenpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/astrobenpodcast/