Shaun the Sheep will be the first ‘astronaut’ to fly on the Artemis I mission

The identity of the first astronaut to blast off onboard the Artemis I mission to the moon has been revealed – and it is none other than Shaun the Sheep.

A figurine of Aardman’s beloved character will be placed onboard the NASA’s Orion spacecraft before liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA later this summer.

The mission, which will include the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Service Module for the first time, is due to go around the moon before heading back to Earth. 

The spacecraft will be controlled by operatives on the ground, while Shaun keeps everything ‘sheep shape’ inside the Orion capsule.

‘This is an exciting time for Shaun and for us at ESA,’ said Dr David Parker, Director for Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA.

‘We’re woolly 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’s spacecraft will enter a low-Earth orbit before its upper stage fires off, taking it into a translunar orbit. The Orion capsule will then perform a flyby of the moon, using the gravity to gain speed and propel itself 43,500 miles (70,000 km) beyond the lunar satellite, before splashing back down in the Atlantic Ocean up to 42 days later

Shaun the Sheep also took a flight on the Airbus ‘Zero G’ A310 aircraft, during one of its parabolic flights that recreates the ‘weightless’ conditions of those experienced in space

Shaun and the Orion will be launched by NASA’s Space Launch System – a 322 feet (98 meters) tall, $23 billion megarocket – later this summer

Shaun and the Orion will be launched by NASA’s Space Launch System – a 322 ft (98 metre) tall, $23 billion megarocket.

The spacecraft will enter a low-Earth orbit before its upper stage fires off, taking it into a translunar orbit.

The Orion capsule will then perform a flyby of the moon, using its gravity to gain speed and propel itself 43,500 miles (70,000 km) beyond and around the lunar satellite, before splashing back down in the Atlantic Ocean up to 42 days later.

In preparation for this flight, Shaun began a programme of astronaut training and familiarisation with the Orion spacecraft in 2020.

He travelled to locations across Europe and the USA to see different aspects of the mission, which will be presented in a series of ESA blog posts leading up to launch.

The Shaun model also took a flight on the Airbus ‘Zero G’ A310 aircraft in 2019, during one of its parabolic flights…