For the Artemis Project, a mission to send mankind back to the moon, first, in November, Artemis 1 will orbit the moon and return to Earth. Although this rocket flies unmanned, in reality there is not one astronaut (?) alone. Snoopy is a popular character. But like Laika on Sputnik 2, it’s not a real dog, it’s a stuffed toy. Why would you send a stuffed toy to space?
The reason why it’s a stuffed toy is because NASA knows about weightlessness through a surveillance camera. Because it is an unmanned flight, the inside of the ship is just an empty space during flight. However, if you have a fluffy stuffed toy, you can check the presence or absence of gravity.
For example, until now, for example, a small stuffed toy was essential for space travel, such as a anthropomorphic doll for the Crew Dragon for unmanned testing and Baby Yoda for the Crew Dragon Unit 1 that arrived at the ISS.
Snoopy was born eight years before NASA was founded in 1958. After an official at the time asked to collaborate with NASA, the contract continues to this day. Snoopy was used in safety campaigns during the Apollo program and has been with NASA all the time, including as a mascot for the success of the project.
This time, Snoopy wears a special space-spec costume using the orange suit material worn by astronauts. A special case was also made, and it was carefully transported to the rocket hangar. Related content this placecan be checked in