NASA donates space suits to help cheer up children with cancer

HOUSTON – Every year in the United States, thousands of children are diagnosed with some form of cancer.

Many of those children don't make it.

MD Anderson Cancer Center is teaming up with NASA for a unique project to call attention to childhood cancers.

"Cancer is not simply a disease of genes or of abnormal cells. It's a disease that affects a person. It's a disease that affects a family," MD Anderson president Ronald DePinho said.

It's called The Space Suit Art Project. Three replica space suits, named Hope, Courage, and Unity, are made of fabric swatches and hand-painted by more than 500 patients, families, staff, and even NASA astronauts.

"This project is so uplifting," Nicole Stott, retired veteran NASA astronaut, said.

A company called ILC Dover donated the suits to NASA, and the organization then brought them to MD Anderson for the suit project.

"It's a way for kids to meet other kids, make new friends, and not feel so alone," cancer survivor Jacob Ballard said.

"Young people who have allowed their imagination to change reality, to transform it," Ian Cion, director of MD Anderson Arts in Medicine program, said.

On Friday, when one suit was unveiled at MD Anderson, the center allowed patients to paint swatches for the third suit.

"It's all about knowledge, it's about inspiration, and it's about overcoming challenges," Ellen Ochoa, director of NASA Johnson Space Center, said.

One of the suits will be put on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston for a few days.

All three suits will then be moved to different cancer centers in Houston and cities across the country and countries around the world.

One suit will even be worn by a NASA astronaut in space.