Second Lady Usha Vance teams up with NASA astronaut at space center: 'This is really exciting for me'

Houston, there was a special guest at NASA's Johnson Space Center this week. On Monday, Second Lady Usha Vance traveled to Houston, Texas for a summer reading challenge event, where she met Space Center Houston campers and the children of NASA employees. Official White House images from the second lady's visit, taken by Harrison Koeppel, were shared with HOLA! USA.

Astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams, who returned to earth earlier this year, joined Vice President JD Vance's wife at the space center. "This is really exciting for me because I love space and I love NASA and I can’t believe that I get to hang out with a real astronaut," the second lady said.

© White House/Harrison Koeppel

To highlight her summer reading challenge, the second lady and Suni read Dean Robbins' Margaret and the Moon book. On stage, Suni said she was "so thrilled" to be there with someone whose "passion for learning reaches beyond the stars."

According to the Second Lady's office, the event on Aug. 4 included a number activities like making postcards to send to space, solving a puzzle while wearing spacesuit gloves, collecting "lunar dust," and working together to assemble a photo of the Orion spacecraft.  

Two of Usha's three kids, Ewan, 8, and Vivek, 5, accompanied her to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Missing from the visit was the second lady and vice president's three-year-old daughter Mirabel.

© White House/Harrison Koeppel

Alongside pictures from the visit, the mom of three wrote on Instagram: "I enjoyed visiting @NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to share more about my Summer Reading Challenge with Space Center Houston campers and children of @nasajohnson employees! Reading with Suni Williams, collecting lunar dust, and making postcards to send to space were some of the highlights of the day. 3... 2... 1... blast off into your next read! #2ndLadySummerReads."

© White House/Harrison Koeppel

The second lady launched her 2025 Summer Reading Challenge in June, encouraging children in kindergarten through eighth grade to read 12 books between June 1 and Sept. 5. After reading 12 books, parents or guardians can submit the child's reading log and submission form to read@mail.whitehouse.gov, and participants will receive a personalized certificate in addition to a small prize. Everyone who completes the challenge will also be entered into a drawing for a chance to visit D.C. with a chaperone.