Children at an Ontario cancer hospital got to watch an astronaut wearing a spacesuit emblazoned with their artwork aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday.

The kids at the Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont., are the latest participants in the an international initiative that aims to raise awareness about the power of arts in healing and the possibilities of scientific collaboration.

NASA astronaut Jack Fischer called the colourful patchwork suit 鈥渢he coolest thing I鈥檝e seen in space, period.鈥�

U.S. astronaut Randy Bresnick said the kids who painted it are 鈥渞eal heroes.鈥�

Dr. Dave Williams, a former astronaut and medical doctor who is now CEO of the hospital, said the Space Suit Project is showing children that collaboration can lead to everything from medical cures to space exploration.

Williams explained that the children coloured triangles just like the ones that made up the suit that he used on his spacewalk. The coloured patches were sewn together and the design was reproduced and flown to the ISS, 400 kilometres above Earth, in July.

The children in Newmarket, and at other participating locations around the world, spoke to the astronauts by video link.

Eight-year-old Logan Deplancke, who just finished treatment for leukemia at Southlake, said he enjoyed the project.

鈥淚t was just really fun because I just used my favourite colours,鈥� he said.

Logan鈥檚 mother, Tanya Deplancke, said that the kids 鈥渟o often come to the hospital so often for negative things -- or things they see as negative or traumatic --- so for us to come for such a positive thing, it鈥檚 just so amazing.鈥�

says astronauts on the ISS are involved in research that could lead to cures for diseases.

The suit that the children worked on was called 鈥淯nity.鈥� Patients from Montreal Children鈥檚 Hospital also participated.