U.S. Astronaut Donates His Space Little Mole to the American Center

August 10, 2011

Andrew Feustel and his family meet former Czech President Vaclav Havel and her wife Dagmar.

At the end of his two-week visit to the Czech Republic American astronaut Andrew Feustel and his family thanked the organizers of the his trip. In return for the warm welcome he received on his tour , Dr. Feustel donated the Little Mole that flew with him to the space to the American Center. This character will be on display at the American Center starting September and will be also used for the educational programs of the Czech Academy of Sciences promoting science and technology among the youth.

The U.S. astronaut attended seven Czech towns (Praha, Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, Pardubice, Zlín, Valašské Meziříčí and Brno) where he held public lectures and autograph sessions. He met with over 3000 Czechs, including municipal officials, academia, researchers as well former President Vaclav Havel. He and his wife provided dozens of the media interviews. Dr. Feustel was honored by the Czech Academy of Sciences with a medal for his contribution to science, education and culture. He also received an honorary “stars” doctorate at the University of Tomas Bata in Zlin and the astronomical observatory in Ceske Budejovice named a planet “Feustel” after him.

The astronaut’s mission in the Czech Republic is not over — Andrew Feustel will co-chair a new program entitled "The Junior Ambassadors of Science and Technology" (JAST) which will bring together the U.S. Embassy in Prague and Czech Academy of Sciences to promote young talented scientists.

Andrew Feustel was a crew member of two space shuttle missions.  His wife Indira is of  Czech descent and therefore Feustel decided to take a piece of the Czech Republic into the space with him.  In 2009, he carried the book Cosmic Songs by Jan Neruda and a Czech flag; in his second flight this May he was accompanied by famous Czech cartoon character Krtecek the Little Mole by artist Zdenek Miler.