Even though ‘it might be a little step for a person, it’s a tremendous leap for lambkind,’ a well-known sheep will soon be travelling to space.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) have chosen Shaun, the titular character from the animated television series ‘Shaun the Sheep,’ to be the first ‘astronaut’ on board the Artemis 1 lunar mission.
Soon, the cunning sheep famed for his exploits will take off in plush form. He will depart from Earth on NASA’s unmanned Orion spacecraft later this month and journey well beyond the moon before returning in just over a month. As per an ESA statement, this voyage will be managed from the ground and will only have a woolly specialist as a passenger rather than a human crew.
ESA’s Director for Human and Robotic Exploration Dr. David Parker said in a statement that ‘this is an exciting time for Shaun and for us at ESA.’ He continued, ‘We’re very happy that he’s been selected for the mission and we understand that, although it might be a small step for a human, it’s a giant leap for lambkind.’
Shaun, who has a ‘strong interest for exploring,’ took a parabolic flight on the unique Airbus ‘Zero G’ A310 aircraft, which replicates the ‘weightlessness’ conditions seen in space.
In the lead-up to launch, the ESA blog will post a number of entries on the naughty sheep’s arduous training, which has reportedly been extensively recorded.
ESA and Aardman, the animation studio that produced the stop-motion sheep, worked together to plan Shaun’s actual space journey.
‘Aardman is pleased to be joining ESA in making history by launching the first’sheep’ into space,’ says Lucy Wendover, marketing director at Aardman.
Shaun is paving the way for lunar exploration, she said, calling the expedition ‘a huge honour for our woolly explorer!’ She continued, ‘What better way to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Shaun’s first TV series than by going farther than any sheep has ever gone.’
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