Esa Names First Astronaut To Fly On Artemis I Lunar Mission

					08/02/2022 1151 views 28 likes

Specially trained woolly astronaut, Shaun the Sheep, has been assigned a position on the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Shaun’s assignment was announced by ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, Dr David Parker. David Parker said, “Shaun’s mission completes the first phase for the last members of our astronaut corps, with Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the International Space Station on her second space flight, Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen named for its second flight and before we introduce our new astronauts from the 2021 selection call later this year.” “This is an exciting time for Shaun and for us at ESA. We are delighted that he has been chosen for the mission and understand that while that may be one small step for one man, it is one giant leap for lambs,” added David Parker. Shaun will fly on the Artemis I mission, which will be the first flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft with an ESA European Service Module, scheduled to orbit the Moon and return. This mission does not carry a human crew, but will be controlled from the ground with its woolly specialist as a passenger. Shaun with a model of the Orion spacecraft of the Artemis I mission and its European Service Module Orion and its European Service Module will be launched by the Space Launch System from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The spacecraft will enter a low-Earth orbit before the rocket’s upper stage is fired to take it into an interlunar orbit. The spacecraft will fly by the Moon, using lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 70,000 km beyond the Moon, nearly half a million km from Earth – farther than any human has ever traveled or sheep. In preparation for this flight, Shaun began an astronaut training and familiarization program with the Orion spacecraft and its European Service Module in 2020, traveling to various locations across Europe and the US to see different aspects of the mission. This training has been documented and will be presented in a series of ESA blog posts prior to release. With a strong passion for exploration, Shaun flew the special Airbus ‘Zero G’ A310 aircraft during one of his parabolic flights which recreates the ‘weightless’ conditions similar to those experienced in space. Supervised by an ESA team, this flight prepared Shaun for his role as a space traveler in his film ‘A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon’, released in 2019. It offered insight into the rigorous training that all astronauts undergo to prepare for space flight, which he will now experience for real. Lucy Wendover, Marketing Director at Aardman, says: “Aardman is thrilled to be joining ESA to make history by launching the first ‘sheep’ into space. As one of the first astronauts to fly an Artemis mission, Shaun leads the way in exploring the Moon, a great honor for our furry adventurer! 2022 marks the 15th anniversary of Shaun’s first TV series, so what better way to celebrate than by traveling further than any other sheep has gone before.’ Watch Shaun’s Artemis I training and preparations for the first European Service Module flight to the Moon here. Like Thanks for the like You have already liked this page, you can only like once!