One of the greatest privileges of my life is getting to meet some of the world's most interesting people, usually by happenstance. Meeting NASA astronaut Don Pettit is one such example. Destin Sandlin -- another science YouTuber and longtime friend -- introduced me to Don at a conference in 2018.
Ever since then Don and I have remained friends. A while back I told him I thought it'd be cool to do a painting of a space monster attacking the International Space Station, sort of like those old-school illustrations of Kraken monsters attacking ships. He agreed and told me, if I could get a little print of it to him before his next space launch, he might even be able to sneak it up with him to the ISS.
Well, it happened; Don blasted off to the ISS in September 2024 to complete a six-month scientific tour. And sure enough, he brought a print of this painting with him.
One of the greatest privileges of my life is getting to meet some of the world's most interesting people, usually by happenstance. Meeting NASA astronaut Don Pettit is one such example. Destin Sandlin -- another science YouTuber and longtime friend -- introduced me to Don at a conference in 2018.
Ever since then Don and I have remained friends. A while back I told him I thought it'd be cool to do a painting of a space monster attacking the International Space Station, sort of like those old-school illustrations of Kraken monsters attacking ships. He agreed and told me, if I could get a little print of it to him before his next space launch, he might even be able to sneak it up with him to the ISS.
Well, it happened; Don blasted off to the ISS in September 2024 to complete a six-month scientific tour. And sure enough, he brought a print of this painting with him.
