NASA

10th Anniversary of Krtek in Space

10th Anniversary of Krtek in Space

Today, March 5th, 2021, marks the 10th anniversary of the little mole's flight into space with American astronaut Andrew Feustel onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour's mission STS-134.

Eugene Cernan

Eugene Cernan

“It was overpowering to realize where you were in that moment in space and time and history, and that that’s the Earth, a quarter of a million miles away.” - Eugene Cernan

The History of Krtek (The Little Mole)

The History of Krtek (The Little Mole)

Krtek, or Mole in English, is an animated character in a series of cartoons created by Czech animator Zdeněk Miler.
Miler wanted to create a children's cartoon that had a strong Disney influence by having an animal as the main character. He decided to pick a mole after stumbling over a molehill during a walk. The first film, called "Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel" ("How the mole got his trousers"), was about how Krtek got help from other animals with different skillsets to join efforts and make a pair of pants from scratch. This little film had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1957, where it was awarded two Golden LionsMiler wanted to create a children's cartoon that had a strong Disney influence by having an animal as the main character. He decided to pick a mole after stumbling over a molehill during a walk. The first film, called "Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel" ("How the mole got his trousers"), was about how Krtek got help from other animals with different skillsets to join efforts and make a pair of pants from scratch. This little film had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1957.