Mexico‘s President invited a NASA astronaut of Mexican descent to dinner when he returns to Earth, which was promptly accepted.

President Felipe Calderon told Jose Hernandez that he is “very happy that your are putting Mexico’s name in space.”

Hernandez is the son of Mexican migrant workers and was born in California. He spent his childhood both in Calderon’s home state of Michoacan and the US.

On Tuesday, Hernandez is set to rocket into orbit in the space shuttle Discovery.

He offered to be an adviser for a future Mexican space agency.

(via the Associated Press)