Children’s cancer patients’ artwork launched into space on historic Soyuz mission

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan: A groundbreaking moment in space and humanitarian cooperation unfolded today at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where children’s artwork from Zambia and 13 other countries was launched into orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket.

The event marked the world’s first rocket covered entirely with drawings created by young cancer patients.

The mission was carried out by the UNITY Foundation in partnership with Roscosmos and the Progress Rocket and Space Center.

Children from 14 nations including Zambia, the US, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Armenia, France, Pakistan, Iran, Switzerland, Serbia, Bolivia, the UK, and Russia contributed illustrations forming a massive collage symbolizing global unity, resilience, and hope.

Africa’s first young space ambassadors

UNITY introduced the initiative to Africa in 2022 through a collaboration with the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka. Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud’-Sverchkov worked directly with young patients in Zambia to collect drawings that later adorned the rocket, making the Zambian participants the first African ambassadors of the Art Rocket Project.

A message of courage launched to the stars

More than 4,000 children have contributed artwork to the initiative over nine years. On November 27, their drawings were launched into space after specialists from the Progress Rocket and Space Center applied the vast collage to the rocket’s exterior.

“The Art Rocket Project is about the power of human dreams,” said UNITY President Alena Kuzmenko. “When the rocket carried the children’s drawings into the sky, part of their fear went with it. What came instead was belief in life, in the future, and in the strength of human unity.”

Global support and participation

The project attracted broad international support from the Bolivian and Brazilian space agencies, MoonDAO, the Space for Art Foundation, major hospitals, embassies, NGOs, and also gained endorsement from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

Fifty young oncology patients from across Russia traveled to Baikonur with their families to witness the mission firsthand. Their visit included workshops, meetings with cosmonauts, tours of historic space facilities, and collaborative mural painting with artists Nikita Romanov (Russia) and Pas Schaffer (Brazil).

A moment of collective hope in the launch day

Before the launch, mission commander Sergey Kud’-Sverchkov greeted the children with UNITY’s symbolic heart gesture- a promise to “deliver their dreams to the Universe.” As the rocket lifted into the sky, children and parents from around the world watched in awe.

“Our rocket became a symbol of optimism, perseverance, and kindness,” Kud’-Sverchkov later wrote. “Each drawing carries a story of illness, courage, and hope.”

A humanitarian milestone for space exploration

The Art Rocket crowns UNITY’s Space Art Therapy Program, which supports young cancer patients by reducing stress, strengthening emotional resilience, and encouraging creativity. The program also advances the UN Sustainable Development Goals by fostering cooperation among the medical, educational, artistic, and space sectors.

Between 2022 and 2025, the initiative generated more than 600 media publications globally. More than 400 reports were released during the Baikonur program alone.

With this launch, children from across continents sent a shared message into the cosmos: every life has value, every dream matters, and humanity is strongest when it stands together.

The mission stands as both a technological triumph and a powerful global symbol of unity and hope echoing UNITY’s motto: We are not alone in the Universe.