NASA whiteboards: Intimate look at art by astronauts' kids as mom, dad launched into space

• NASA's Lessons Learned program? Powerful art created while waiting for mom or dad to launch from KSC
• Collection of whiteboards decorated by space shuttle astronauts' kids is not on public display
• For the astronauts' kids: Doodles, messages for every shuttle mission after Challenger explosion

Fly safe, we're all proud of you!

You reached the next level of awesomeness!!

I love you Daddy.

Rainbows and rockets illustrate the heartfelt messages written by little hands. Stars and moons smile over astronauts and space dogs. And some messages appear again and again: Good luck and Godspeed!

When space shuttles returned to flight in 1988 after the Challenger explosion, a new tradition was born. Provided with whiteboards and colorful markers, the astronauts' families were encouraged to express their feelings – anxiety, pride, fear, excitement – through art.

Today, almost 100 colorfully decorated whiteboards line the office hallways at Kennedy Space Center, tangible reminders of the real people behind the dream of reaching for the stars. To these artists and writers, the astronauts were not just national heroes, but Mom and Dad.

NASA has not exhibited the boards publicly out of respect for the privacy of the families who created them, but did agree to give FLORIDA TODAY a look.

“It became a way to focus the children’s energy, to express all that emotion that they’re feeling. It’s powerful," said Michael Ciannilli, manager of NASA’s Apollo, Challenger, Columbia Lessons Learned Program.

The whiteboards helped the kids feel connected to the launch, he said. And drawing helped them share difficult emotions.

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People around the world breathed a collective sigh of relief when Discovery launched safely almost three years after the 1986 Challenger explosion. But perhaps no one felt the relief more keenly than the astronauts’ children, who gathered at KSC to watch their parents go on the adventure of a lifetime, not knowing whether they would come home again.

"It was a lot harder to watch me launch than it was to actually sit in the rocket," said astronaut Mike Good, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who flew twice aboard space shuttle Atlantis.

Good remembers the difficult moment when he had to pivot away from his family and focus instead on the mission. His three grown children attended his shuttle launches, along with one grandchild who was a baby at the time. Before entering a pre-launch quarantine, the astronauts had a chance to spend time with family and say goodbye.

"Everyone wishes you luck, and off you go," he said. "There are some tears shed at that goodbye, because there’s the reality of it. This could be the last time I see you, the last time I hug you, the last time I kiss you goodbye."

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Before long, NASA began to see the whiteboards as far more than just a handy outlet for family members' nervous pre-launch energy.

“We saw that amazing works of art were being created," Ciannilli said. "We realized we have to capture this and preserve it for the future. And our appreciation for the art has only grown over the years.”

The whiteboard tradition continued until the last space shuttle mission in 2011. Ninety-seven times, shuttle astronauts’ families gathered on launch days, unleashed their creativity and made art.

Universal themes

The messages are personal, but they speak for thousands of well-wishers across the country and around the world. They speak for all of us who stood on the beach or lined the causeways to feel the thrill of a launch, or who were ushered outside by teachers to watch a shuttle soar into the sky.

Although we didn't know the astronauts personally, we cheered for them and feared for their safety as if we were family.

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"That’s a big part of our mission: to connect, not just with our families, but with everyone, and to bring the experience of flying in space back home to all the people on the team, and all the people in the country that are supporting us," Good said.

Outsider art

Most people, most of the time, don’t go around writing about emotions. As adults, many of us become uncomfortable if we are asked to express our feelings, especially under highly charged circumstances.

But the words and drawings on the whiteboards are heartfelt, poetic in their childlike exuberance. Some are funny; one can almost see the pained adolescent eyeroll that accompanied I’ve been to Florida way too much, or the toothy grin that almost certainly went with Don’t break anything, Dad!

Some boards are elaborately decorated. Others resemble the autographed pages of a high school yearbook, scrawled with inside jokes and well wishes.

Although the astronauts wouldn't get to see the whiteboards until after their flights, the tradition was important to the family members. "It was their way to talk to us when we couldn’t be there, to connect with us and wish us luck," Good said. "They were there with us."

The boards are also dotted with famous names. Bill and Hillary Clinton both signed the whiteboard for Discovery's mission in October 1998, which saw John Glenn's return to space. An upper corner of that board reads, We're proud of you Grandpa! accompanied Daniel Glenn's drawings comparing "Grandpa John" in 1962 and 1998.

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Among the most touching are the drawings by the youngest children. Some of them are little more than scrawls. Others depict the launch filtered through a young imagination: smiling stick figure astronauts soaring on colorful space shuttles overseen by happy green aliens.

“How they view what’s happening that day is different based on their ages and experiences. There’s a range of emotion, just like anyone would have if their parent was doing something adventurous,” Ciannilli said.

The family members who drew on the whiteboards probably didn't consider themselves artists or intend to convey a deeper message, they were just doodling notes to their loved ones. But with time and perspective, the whiteboards have evolved into something poignant. Like an art exhibit, the collection reflects a powerful human experience.

Looking forward

While the whiteboards are not on public display, they still play a valuable role at Kennedy Space Center.

"We’re taking our past, and through innovation, we’re effectively teaching those lessons for a brand new generation," Ciannilli said.

The whiteboards serve as a powerful reminder of the real people behind the mission: real people who are loved, who are more than their jobs.

 “We need to be fully responsible for our actions, fully responsible for learning and doing the best job we possibly can to get our folks back home safely,” Ciannilli said.

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The idea of spaceflight is dazzling, capturing the imagination with the promise of adventure. It is easy to get swept up in the drama of interplanetary travel and exploration; that dream continues to inspire us, even as we move closer to making it a reality.

But the dream of reaching for the stars is both glorious and difficult. Nothing about it is easy, and nothing should be taken for granted.

“Launching rockets is a challenging business,” Ciannilli said. “We never want to lose sight of the folks who are riding on top of those rockets, and the families behind them.”

LaFortune hosts "The FLORIDA TODAY Show."

Contact LaFortune at 321-242-3886

or clafortune@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @lafortunec

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