UCI mascot to ride into space with astronaut

If aliens intercept the NASA space shuttle set to be launched on Tuesday, one of the first Americans they meet may be Peter the Anteater.

The UC Irvine mascot is expected to hitch a ride on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in the form of a three-inch stuffed doll brought on board by astronaut Tracy Caldwell. The crew member came to UCI in 1997 as a Dreyfus Environmental Postdoctoral Fellow, and UCI faculty members provided her with a campus token to carry into space.

The toy, provided by the atmospheric chemistry research group AirUCI, features a UCI patch on its stomach and a flag reading “First EMSI in Space” — with EMSI standing for Environmental Molecular Sciences Institute, a nationwide group that funds research at UCI.

— Michael Miller