Question 1

True or false: Before becoming an astronaut, Whitson worked as a biochemist and studied bone density in space.

Accepted Answer

True. She earned a PhD in biochemistry and researched bone loss in microgravity before selection as an astronaut.

Question 2

True or false: Whitson was the first woman to command the International Space Station twice.

Accepted Answer

True. She commanded ISS during Expeditions 16 and 51, making her the first woman to hold the role twice.

Question 3

True or false: Peggy Whitson has spent more cumulative time in space than any other American astronaut.

Accepted Answer

True. She holds the U.S. record with 665 days in space across three missions, surpassing all other American astronauts.

Question 4

True or false: Peggy Whitson once played a guitar solo on the ISS that was broadcast live to Earth.

Accepted Answer

False. There is no record of Peggy Whitson performing a guitar solo on the ISS. Astronaut Chris Hadfield is famous for his guitar performance of 'Space Oddity' in space.

Question 5

True or false: As of 2024, Peggy Whitson held the record for the most spacewalks by a female astronaut, with 10.

Accepted Answer

True. She performed 10 spacewalks totaling over 60 hours, the most by any woman as of 2024.

Question 6

True or false: Peggy Whitson retired from NASA at age 58. At the time, she held the record for the oldest woman in space.

Accepted Answer

True. She retired in June 2018 at age 58. During her 2016–2017 mission, she became the oldest woman in space at age 57, a record she held at retirement.

Question 7

True or false: Whitson was the first astronaut to fly on both a Russian Soyuz and a SpaceX Crew Dragon.

Accepted Answer

False. Peggy Whitson flew on both Soyuz and Crew Dragon (Ax-1 in 2022), but she was not the first. Astronauts like Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi achieved this earlier, flying on Soyuz then Crew Dragon in 2020.

Question 8

True or false: Peggy Whitson once grew and ate fresh lettuce on the ISS, but it gave her food poisoning.

Accepted Answer

False. She did grow lettuce on the ISS, but no food poisoning occurred—astronauts safely ate space-grown veggies.

Peggy Whitson Trivia Questions