Monday 15 August 2022 03:31 PM NASA's packing list for Artemis 1 revealed trends now
The countdown to NASA's return to the moon is officially on, with just weeks to go until the launch of the first in a series of missions that will see human boots back on the lunar surface by 2025.
Ahead of the launch of Artemis I, the US space agency has revealed a list of items it is sending on the SLS rocket and accompanying Orion spacecraft for its journey to the Earth's only natural satellite.
They include 245 silver Snoopy pins, a Shaun the Sheep mascot, a Dead Sea pebble and 567 American flags.
The rocket, which is the most powerful ever built, is due to lift off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on August 29.
NASA said the Official Flight Kit was a cultural and educational 'time capsule'.
'Many of the items included in the flight kit are symbols of cultural significance or NASA's collaborative efforts with STEM-focused organisations,' the US space agency said. That includes a set of space science badges for Girl Scouts.
A small piece of moon rock from the Apollo 11 mission will also join the ride, along with a patch and a bolt from Neil Armstrong's iconic mission, to help connect the Apollo legacy to the Artemis program.
Shaun the Sheep's inclusion was arranged by the European Space Agency (ESA), which built the power-providing service module for the mission.
Bizarre: Ahead of the launch of Artemis I, the US space agency has revealed a list of items it is sending on the SLS rocket on its journey to the Earth's only natural satellite. They include a Shaun the Sheep mascot (pictured) and 567 American flags
Among the items will be 245 silver Snoopy pins (pictured), while a small piece of moon rock from the Apollo 11 mission will also join the ride
Four LEGO mini-figures (pictured) are also included in the official flight kit for the mission
Towering: The enormous Space Launch System (pictured) is scheduled to blast into space on August 29 as part of a six-week mission that will see it carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to lunar orbit and back
'This is an exciting time for Shaun and for us at ESA,' David Parker, director for human and robotic exploration at ESA, said.
'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.'
ESA worked with Aardman, the animation studio behind the stop-motion sheep, to arrange the trip.
'Aardman is excited to be joining ESA in making history by launching the first 'sheep' into space,' said Lucy Wendover, marketing director at Aardman.
'As one of the first astronauts to fly on an Artemis mission, Shaun is leading the way in lunar exploration, a great honor for our woolly adventurer!
'2022 marks the 15th anniversary of Shaun's first TV series, so what better way to celebrate than by traveling farther than any sheep has gone before,' she added.
Shaun is not the only pop culture figure launching on board the Artemis 1 flight.
A Snoopy doll based on the comic strip beagle is flying as the mission's zero-gravity indicator, while four LEGO mini-figures are also included.
LEGO is a long-time provider of projects and mini-figures based on real-life NASA missions, including several generations of space shuttles and Mars rovers for children.
These particular ones star in the educationally focused 'Build to Launch: A STEAM Exploration Series)'.
During Artemis I, the Orion spacecraft – which was primarily built by Lockheed Martin – will stay in space 'longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space
