Utah's solar system ambassador getting top NASA award


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STANSBURY PARK, Tooele County — Patrick Wiggins is NASA's solar system ambassador to Utah and Nevada.

Basically, it means he educates people about space and astronomical events.

NASA requires its solar system ambassadors to hold four education events a year.

Wiggins averages about 85, and has been doing so since 2002.

So, when he opened an email from NASA recently, he couldn’t believe what the letter said.

NASA was awarding Wiggins its Distinguished Public Service Medal, which is the highest award the space agency gives to civilians.

"This is humbling. To see something like that, it just blew me away,” said Wiggins. “I went online, literally, that’s what you do, right? You google it to see what the award is about. Then it started listing the people who won it before, and when I read Carl Sagan’s name, I almost fell off my chair.”

Patrick Wiggins, of Stansbury Park, is NASA's solar system ambassador to Utah and will receive the agency's Distinguished Public Service Medal next week.
Patrick Wiggins, of Stansbury Park, is NASA's solar system ambassador to Utah and will receive the agency's Distinguished Public Service Medal next week. (Photo: KSL TV)

Wiggins will receive the award next week in Washington, D.C.

Normally, you could find him in the rural towns of Utah, where he teaches classes and hosts educational programs about space.

One of his favorite places is Bryce Canyon National Park, which has some of the darkest skies in the country — perfect to observe what’s beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

“I do programs once a month, several times a year, down at Bryce Canyon. That's a five-hour drive one way. I do a one-hour program and drive back. My boss thinks that's crazy, but I do it any way,” said Wiggins.

He also volunteers his time for these programs. NASA solar system ambassadors do not get paid.

“I've got to get something out of it, I admit that. I'm not getting money out of it, but I’m getting satisfaction. I'm getting enjoyment,” said Wiggins.


I'll hear this from teachers. They'll see me at Walmart or something and say, 'you know, you were at my school last week, and I haven't been able to get my kids to shut up about this stuff yet.' Or a child will come up to me and say, 'hey, I did that experiment at home.' That's the reward right there.

–Patrick Wiggins


That’s because there is something about a telescope, and seeing a child's face light up like the sun when he or she looks through it.

“I’ll hear this from teachers. They’ll see me at Walmart or something and say, ‘you know, you were at my school last week, and I haven’t been able to get my kids to shut up about this stuff yet.’ Or a child will come up to me and say, ‘hey, I did that experiment at home.’ That’s the reward right there,” said Wiggins.

Wiggins spends a lot of his free time at the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex, where he is a member of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society.

He also spent nearly two decades working at the old Hansen Planetarium.

In 1999, he discovered an asteroid outside the orbit of Mars and named it Elko after his hometown in Nevada.

After next week, he’ll be able to add a plaque and a medal to his accomplishments.

"They say this is the highest award NASA gives. It's not quite. The highest award would be a ride to the International Space Station, please,” laughs Wiggins.

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