Four NASA Astronauts Visit The Inn for an Out-of-This-World Experience
Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Tracy Dyson, and Jeannette Epps share stories and goodies with Inn families
The exploits and discoveries of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been leading children to reach for the stars since its founding nearly 70 years ago. The agency that landed the first astronauts on the moon and helped shed light on galaxies millions of miles from earth made a visit to The Children’s Inn at NIH on Friday, as four astronauts had an opportunity to meet families staying at The Inn and share the unique work still being done in outer space.
Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Tracy Dyson, and Jeannette Epps spent time on the campus at the National Institutes of Health, first visiting in-patient children and families at the NIH Clinical Center before arriving at The Inn itself. The quartet, who have combined to spend more than three-and-a-half years in outer space, mingled with children and caregivers and amazed them with stories from beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
The astronauts told the kids what life is like for them at the International Space Station more than 250 miles above the surface of the Earth. They posed for pictures and answered questions. At the end, they handed out NASA backpacks for the kids to use on their own missions up the hill from The Inn at the Clinical Center.
One captivated audience member was Dominic, a two-year-old from Wisconsin. Though he didn’t quite understand the depth of experience the people talking to him had, he loved the attention and his mother Maria mentioned that he especially enjoyed the astronaut figurine that came in the backpacks.
“I think it’s really great that there’s a place like this,” said Maria, who has two children in NIH clinical trials and has been coming to The Inn since 2017. “We can stay here and rest, but they also have so many great activities and programming to keep the kids busy and engaged.”
Friday’s visit was not the first time that representatives of NASA have visited The Inn. In 2023, families got to speak to astronaut John Shoffner live from the ISS via a live video link. NASA has also sent other astronauts to The Inn in the past to meet the families and share their experiences.
