NASA astronaut plants symbolic oak at Prague Botanical Garden

NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel visited the Prague Botanical Garden this week to take part in a symbolic tree planting as part of the Roots of Prominent Personalities project, which honors individuals who have made significant contributions to science, culture, and society.

Feustel, accompanied by his wife Indira—whose family traces its roots to the South Moravian town of Znojmo—planted a Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), a species native to both California and Central Europe.

Feustel, who completed three missions to space and logged over 225 days in orbit, is the 124th figure to be honored through the program, and only the second astronaut after Czechia’s Vladimír Remek. Speaking at the ceremony, Feustel said he hoped the tree would serve as an inspiration for future generations interested in exploration, science, and lifelong learning.

The Valley Oak chosen for Feustel is known for its longevity and resilience. Native to California’s Central Valley, the species can grow up to 35 meters tall and live for as long as 600 years.

The tree planted at the botanical garden now stands at the edge of the North American Forest Biotope exhibit and is the garden’s only example of this particular oak. According to the garden’s curator Tomáš Vencálek, the Valley Oak is considered an endemic species in its home region and symbolizes strength and endurance.

"All endemics deserve some degree of protection," Vencálek noted, adding that the tree’s deep-lobed leaves and massive stature make it one of the most impressive species in the oak family. "It’s a fitting tribute for someone whose work has extended beyond our planet."

Feustel has longstanding ties to Czech culture through his wife and Czech friends. On his first space mission in 2009, he took with him a copy of Czech poet Jan Neruda’s Cosmic Songs.

On his later missions in 2011 and 2018, he carried the beloved Czech cartoon character Krtek (The Little Mole), and even brought a reproduction of the Terezín ghetto magazine Vedem and a drawing by its 14-year-old editor Petr Ginz, who perished in the Holocaust.

After retiring from NASA in 2023, Feustel has continued supporting scientific initiatives with links to Czechia, including the national program Czech Path to Space (Česká cesta do vesmíru). At the tree-planting event, he expressed gratitude and reflected on the cultural exchange embedded in his career.

"Coming here to the botanical garden is, for me, actually part of my journey into space," Feustel said.

"Thanks to my wife Indira, I was able to include the Czech Republic in my missions, and thanks to our friends here in Czechia—including Jana and Vladimír Remek, who supported us on our journey and with whom we've shared many adventures—we’ve made it here today. I’m very grateful to be able to take part in the beautiful project Roots of Personalities."

Past honorees in the Roots of Prominent Personalities project have included Václav Havel, Madeleine Albright, Miloš Forman, Petra Kvitová, and others who have made an impact both in the Czech Republic and abroad.