NASA astronaut of Ukrainian origin Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper visited Ukraine on the 28^th of January on the invitation of Ukrainian businessman and patron of the arts Victor Pinchuk. This was her first visit to Ukraine.

The US Ambassador in Ukraine William B. Tailor and the first astronaut of the independent Ukraine Leonid Kadeniuk among others greeted the honored guest in the airport of Boryspil.

During her staying, Stefanyshyn-Piper visited Kyiv where on the 31^st of January, she took part as a reporter in the public lecture "Economic Future of Space Exploration for Ukraine and the World" conducted in the framework of the series of public lectures of the Kyiv School of Economics established by the EERC and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

The same day, the astronaut together with the worldwide known writer Paulo Coelho became an honored guest at the awarding ceremony for the winners of the Zavtra.ua stipend program of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. The ceremony took place at Antonov aviation complex.

Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper also visited Lviv and Lviv Region. The goal of the private visit was to see the places of her origin. In particular, Mrs. Stefanyshyn-Piper visited the villages of Novy Yarychiv and Yakymiv of in Kamianka-Buzky Rayon. Her father Mykhailo Stefanyshyn was born in Yakymiv.