Jacob Ballard painted a section of Rubins’s spacesuit while in treatment for a type of bone cancer. “Working on the space project has really meant a lot to me and my family,” the 17-year-old says.
Retired astronaut Nicole Stott helps run the program. “It’s a beautiful [example] of art, science, and space coming together,” she says.
So far, patients at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have completed two spacesuits, which they call HOPE and COURAGE. Rubins wore COURAGE (above) aboard the International Space Station in 2016. HOPE (right) includes more than 600 small, hand-painted canvases stitched together by patients, families, and hospital staff. One more suit, UNITY, is in the works. It will include painted swatches from hospitals and space centers around the world.