“Shaun, the life of the sheep” goes to the moon

From what has been made official by the ESA portal, the character most loved by children and adults will also enter it mission to the moon. He has a rightful place in the mission Artemis I with a launch scheduled for August 23, 2022. David Parker, ESA’s director for human and robotic exploration, made the announcement of the initiative. Artemis is the first flight of the Orion spacecraft from the NASA. An important step towards returning to the moon.

The special thing about the mission is that the crew will not be human, but with Shaun. It is a character known to the little ones for the series “Shaun the Sheep”. Shaun the sheep will accompany Artemis I’s doll as it flies over the moon. The mission will go 70,000 kilometers beyond the moon. The controls will obviously be carried out from Earth. The Orion spacecraft will depart from the Space Launch System at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside, then, the iconic cartoon sheep doll. Shaun’s training is documented on the ESA website. A way to bring the little ones closer to the subject of space.

This is an exciting time for Shaun and for us at ESA and we are very pleased that he has been selected for the mission. And while it may be a small step for a man, it is a great leap for all sheep.

David Parker, ESA’s Director for Human and Robotic Exploration

The mission with Shaun on board will be a way to open subsequent missions with the aim of returning humans to the lunar surface. The capsule will record important information for subsequent human flights. Shaun is trained to be astronauts and to become familiar with the Orion spacecraft. All this through traveling to different locations in Europe and America and studying different aspects of the mission.