Astronaut Shaun the Sheep returns to Bristol after historic space flight
He was aboard Artemis I last year, becoming the first sheep to enter orbit
Back from a trip around the moon, Shaun the Sheep has landed bleet first in his Aardman home.
A small model figure of the beloved character has successfully returned to his home town of Bristol, after travelling the galaxy with the European Space Agency (ESA).
Shaun journeyed 1.4 million miles over 25 days, going further than any sheep has gone before.
The mission was a test flight for NASA’s Artemis space program, which in 2024, hopes to see the first man on the moon in over 50 years.
With no humans on board, Shaun travelled on Artemis 1 as a passenger while the spacecraft was controlled from the ground.
The woolly mascot returned to earth on December 11 to take a well-earned break before returning home on Wednesday (29 March).
His arrival was met with celebration from the ESA, who presented the astronaut with an official portrait and plaque to hang proudly in Aardman HQ.
Dr David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration at the ESA, came to Bristol to unveil Shaun’s awards and present the animation studio a certificate from NASA.
The accolades have not come without hard work.
The little figurine went through months of gruelling training. Shaun completed experiments, ran simulators, and learnt how to respond to emergencies.
His research took him across the world from Germany to Texas.
But Shaun’s journey is not over yet!
Aardman have announced Shaun’s astronaut duties will take him on tour.
The studio has said in a statement: ‘Shaun will be visiting various space centres across Europe to learn about the future of space exploration’.
More details on how you can see the space travelling celebrity will be announced soon.
Whether this is Shaun’s last venture to the moon is unclear, but Aardman are hoping it is just the beginning.
This may be just one small step for Shaun, but it’s one giant leap for lamb-kind.
The character first entered our screens on “Wallace and Gromit” and has since starred in his own TV show.