From Shaun the Sheep to Lego: the weird items aboard Nasa’s latest mission to the Moon revealed

SHAUN the Sheep has been revealed as the first ‘astronaut’ to fly on Nasa’s next big Moon mission.

The woolly character is among several odd objects to be blasted into space at the end of August.

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There won’t be any humans travelling on the Artemis I test flight.

Instead, 120 pounds of mementos will be on board.

Nasa and the European Space Agency (ESA) will load the Orion spacecraft with 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.

Travelling with Shaun will be four Lego mini figures and 245 Silver Snoopy pins.

90 Girl Scouts Space Science badges and various tree and plant seeds will be launched off too.

There will also be some symbolic items.

A small Moon rock from Apollo 11 – the 1969 mission that saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon – is among the haul.

The National Air and Space Museum is lending an Apollo 8 commemorative medallion, a bolt from the Apollo 11 mission, and an Apollo 11 mission patch to the kit.

A USB stick containing millions of people’s names as part of Nasa’s Fly Your Name campaign are on as well.

A 3D-printed replica of the Greek goddess Artemis will fly.

And the Israel Space Agency is contributing a pebble from the shore of the Dead Sea.

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