Astronaut Andrew Feustel in the Czech Republic

The honorary medal De scientia et humanitate optime meritis is granted by the ASCR to a significant domestic and foreign person, who has served the advancement of science, education, culture and the promotion of humanitarian ideals. In recent years, it has been awarded inter alia to prof. Antonín Holý, prof. Pavel Klener, prof. Erazim Kohák, conductor Zdeněk Mácal or another astronaut with Czech roots Eugene A. Cernan.

 

‘I hope that this award will be a good stimulus for the continuation of the very successful cooperation between the ASCR and NASA, especially then between the Academy of Sciences and Andrew Feustel,’ emphasised President of the ASCR prof. Jiří Drahoš during the award ceremony of the honorary medal and diploma. The ceremonial event took place at the beginning of a press briefing at the headquarters of the ASCR, which was attended besides by the American astronaut, his wife Indira and sons also by Director of the Astronomical Institute of the ASCR Petr Heinzel, Director of the American Centre of the Embassy of the USA in the CR Miroslav Konvalina and Director of the Czech Space Office Jan Kolář.

 

At the briefing, Jiří Drahoš inter alia reminded of the need to develop interest in science and technical and natural science fields in young people, namely already from early childhood. ‘It is not enough to devote ourselves to them when they are at secondary school or university. We have therefore agreed with the American Embassy that we will announce a programme, which is to support the interest in the study of engineering and the technical sciences. The concept is such that the programme would involve selected firms and students finishing elementary school. The students would have the practical possibility of cooperating with the institutions. And Andrew Feustel will be the guarantor of the programme,’ specified Jiří Drahoš.

 

Also Andrew Feustel praised the assistance and support of the Academy of Sciences of the CR and presented President prof. Jiří Drahoš with a commemorative panel with a collage created from photographs of the final flight of the space shuttle Endeavour, the emblem of the mission and the Czech flag. ‘This flag was on board during our mission STS-134, it returned in good shape from space and now I give it to you as an expression of thanks for your support and terrific cooperation,’ stated Andrew Feustel. The American astronaut also confided the fantastic feeling he had experienced on board the space shuttle: ‘Space flights change you. I realised how beautiful and fragile the Earth is. When you look at it, you do not see the borders of states or wars. It is important for us to be able to live in peace and harmony.’

 

Andrew Feustel flew into space the first time already in 2009 as a participant of the flight of the space shuttle Atlantis STS-125 on its final service mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. In both cases, he took selected symbols from the Czech Republic with him on board; in 2009, Neruda’s Cosmic Songs and a Czech flag and, in 2011, the stuffed character Krteček by Zdeněk Miler.

In the programme of Andrew Feustel’s visit, there were public meetings and autograph sessions. His sons and his wife Indira, whose mother is Czech and father is Indian, also travelled with him to the Czech Republic.