A European Union navigation system satellite of Galileo Programme, which is going to be launched into space (Scheduled at GMT 1227), was named after a Estonian girl from.
The namesake of the Milena is Milena Kaznatsejeva, 14, who several years ago won a drawing competition held by the European Space Agency, according to Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR).
The Milena satellite and another one, Doresa, will be launched from French Guyana, the ERR report said, and will eventually be part of the Galileo navigation system, which is a European alternative to the American-led GPS program.
Milena's drawing, done using a monotype technique, is interpreted by her art teacher Olga Zarkova as possibly depicting a distant supernova or a planet falling into a black hole.
Milena who graduated from art school this spring, devoted her final project to an outer space theme as well. She herself admitted that the cosmos is one of her favorite subjects, and painting technique "monotype" is very suitable topic.
Milena's mother, Larissa Kaznatsejeva, said she prefers to see her daughter go into science with art as a sideline. She has aptitude for science, and Larissa said Milena has a standing invitation from University of Tartu to apply for the physics and astronomy program in two or three years.