Former NASA astronaut visits Ukraine children’s hospital
KYIV, Ukraine (CNN) – Former American NASA astronaut and ambassador for Ukraine’s UNITED24 fundraising platform, Scott Kelly, made a special trip to Irpin in Ukraine’s Kyiv region.
Kelly visited Kyiv’s children’s hospital, the country’s largest pediatric hospital, where he met with young patients.
Kelly said that “on one hand, it’s really sad to see the horrific injuries that these children have as a result of Russian airstrikes but somewhat it was also heartwarming to see the resilience that the Ukrainian people are demonstrating in this horrific war but also, very, very sad to see.”
During his visit to the hospital, Kelly gave out NASA badges, which he brought from his annual trip to the International Space Station and in turn, the children also gave him a gift — a drawing of Kelly in space, according to UNITED24.
“Touched, Scott took it with him to hang on the wall in his home in Colorado,” UNITED24 said via Twitter.
“At the end of the visit, Scott asked the kids: ‘those who want to become an astronaut, come out and take a picture.’ So, in this photo you can see future space shuttle crew members. All that’s left to do is recover and grow up a little,” UNITED24 said, posting a picture of Kelly surrounded by children in Kyiv’s hospital.
Irpin mayor Oleksandr Markushyn says Kelly is the first to contribute $65,000 for ambulances for the Armed Forces. Kelly additionally raised $500,000 to support Ukrainians during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Markushyn.
Kelly’s final mission aboard the International Space Station lasted 340 days, ending on March 1, 2016. He decided to immortalize this second highest American record in a single spaceflight and create a series of NFT artwork with 100% of net proceeds going to a nonprofit organization helping those affected by the war in Ukraine.
On International Cosmonautics Day this past April, “The Dreams Out of This World” collection launched with the auction of three NFTs paired with either Kelly’s physical flying suit, space gloves and command cap while 3,333 generative pieces are listed on NFT marketplace.
The auction was supposed to last three days, but the NFT creations sold out in a few hours, according to Markushyn.
During a visit to Ochmatdyt Children’s Hospital, @StationCDRKelly spoke with the young patients, voiced his support, and presented them with #NASA badges, which he brought from his annual trip to the International Space Station. They made a really great, cosmic present. pic.twitter.com/Nif1kejrQM
— U24 (@U24_gov_ua) November 27, 2022
