Nicole Stott is a NASA veteran with 27 years of service, including two spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. She performed one spacewalk; she was the first person to fly the robotic arm to capture the free flying HTV cargo vehicle; she was the last crew member to fly to and from their ISS mission on a Space Shuttle; and she was a member of the crew of the final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-133. Nicole is also a NASA Aquanaut and the holder of the women’s world record for saturation diving. Heavily decorated, Nicole is the recipient of NASA Space Flight, Distinguished Service, and Exceptional Achievement Medals; the Russian Medal of Merit for Space; and a Florida Aviation Hall of Fame Inductee.
Nicole retired from her 27-year career with NASA in 2015 and embarked on her next adventure as an artist and SciArt Education advocate. Combining her artwork and spaceflight experience, she is also actively working to inspire students, educators, and the general public to take an interest in S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) topics. Nicole aims to inspire creative thinking about solutions to our planetary challenges, to raise awareness of the surprising interplay between science and art, and to promote the amazing work being done every day in space to improve life right here on Earth.
In 2021, Nicole released her first book, Back to Earth: What Life In Space Taught Me About My Home Planet – And Our Mission to Protect It. Additionally, Nicole has been featured in National Geographic’s One Strange Rock, Arrow Media’s Man Made Planet, and Planetary Collective’s Overview.
