A well-liked stop-motion sheep is about to go from Mossy Backside Farm to the moon.
Shaun, the principle character of the animated tv sequence ‘Shaun the Sheep’, has been assigned area on NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, which is scheduled to launch later this month. The exceptionally clever Shropshire lamb – in stuffed doll kind – will fly far past the moon on NASA’s uncrewed Orion spacecraft earlier than returning to Earth in simply over a month.
Inclusion of Shaun within the official Artemis 1 Flight Package (opens in a brand new tab) was organized by the European Area Company (ESA), which constructed the facility provide service module for the mission.
“That is an thrilling time for Shaun and for us at ESA,” stated David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA, in an announcement. (opens in a brand new tab) revealed on Tuesday (August 2). “We’re more than happy that he was chosen for the mission and we perceive that whereas this can be a small step for a human, it’s a large leap for the lamb.”
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ESA labored with Aardman, the animation studio behind the stop-motion sheep, to curate Shaun’s real-life area journey.
“Aardman is thrilled to hitch ESA in making historical past by launching the primary ‘sheep’ into area,” stated Lucy Wendover, Advertising and marketing Director at Aardman. “As one of many first astronauts to fly on an Artemis mission (opens in a brand new tab)Shaun is main the way in which in lunar exploration, an incredible honor for our woolly adventurer!”
“2022 marks the fifteenth anniversary of Shaun’s first TV sequence, so what higher strategy to rejoice than by touring additional than any sheep has gone earlier than,” she added.
A spin-off of one other Aaarman manufacturing, “Wallace & Gromit”, Shaun (the sheep) first appeared within the 1995 brief movie “A Shut Shave”. The TV sequence debuted in 2007 and has since been seen in 180 international locations. Two characteristic movies adopted, together with 2019’s “A Shaun the Sheep Film: Farmageddon,” through which Shaun meets a customer from outer area.