N° 14–2023: Celebrate the Artemis I mission with Shaun the Sheep

Shaun represented ESA on the first flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft to be powered by a European Service Module. The woolly astronaut splashed down safely in Orion’s crew capsule on 11 December 2022, after a 25-day mission to the Moon and back.

Artemis I was the first flight of the next generation of human spacecraft to return humankind to the Moon. Orion and its European Service Module were launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, on 16 November 2022. The spacecraft performed a flyby of the Moon, used lunar gravity and its main engine to gain speed and propel itself 70 000 km beyond the Moon, over 430 000 km from Earth– farther than any human, or sheep, has ever travelled.

Flying just 130 km from the Moon’s surface, the spacecraft returned to Earth for a safe splashdown with Shaun entering our atmosphere at a speed of 39 590 km/h, faster than a return from the International Space Station, and 24 times faster than a speeding bullet.

After a much-needed rest, Shaun has returned home to the Aardman studio in Bristol before continuing his astronaut duties on a post-flight tour. ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, David Parker and ESA astronaut candidate Rosemary Coogan will formally congratulate Shaun before he visits space centres across Europe to continue learning about programmes ESA offers in space exploration.

ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker said, “It is always a special pleasure to greet European astronauts when they return from space, and today I am delighted to welcome Shaun the Sheep, alive and wool after a well-deserved rest on the farm.

“As the first sheep to fly to the Moon and back, he’s got a lot to teach us about the ambition, talent and diversity needed for Europe’s exploration of space. I am sure everyone will flock to meet him during his post-flight tour.”

Peter Lord, Co-founder and Creative Director at Aardman said, “I can hardly believe I’m writing this, but Shaun the Sheep has just returned from a trip around the Moon! Everyone at the Aardman studio is bursting with pride as we celebrate his historic journey from Mossy Bottom Farm to the vast emptiness of space. And we’re equally delighted and proud of our partnership with ESA, who trained him for the flight and made the whole adventure possible. No sheep has ever seen so much or travelled so far.”

This exceptional moment will also be marked with the unveiling of a new piece of Aardman history, as Shaun’s astronaut portrait and a commemorative plaque will be placed on permanent display at the Aardman studio. The same portrait photo is hanging proudly at the European Service Module control centre at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands.

The Artemis II mission is in preparation and the astronauts that will fly around the Moon in 2024 will be announced in April. The European Service Module for this second Artemis mission is almost complete and undergoing standard pre-launch tests at NASA’s operations and checkout building six kilometres from the Artemis launchpad.

 

ENDS

Notes to editors

About Aardman

Aardman, an employee-owned company, is based in Bristol (UK) and co-founded in 1976 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, is an independent and multi-Academy Award® and BAFTA® award winning studio. It produces feature films, series, advertising, games and interactive entertainment – current animated productions include; 2021 holiday specials Robin Robin and Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas, CGI series Lloyd of the Flies, a new stop motion series for pre-schoolers The Very Small Creatures, feature length sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and a brand new Wallace & Gromit film for 2024.

Its productions are global in appeal, novel, entertaining, brilliantly characterised and full of charm reflecting the unique talent, energy and personal commitment of the Aardman team. The studio’s work – which includes the creation of much-loved characters including Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Timmy Time and Morph – is often imitated, and yet the company continues to lead the field producing a rare brand of visually stunning content for cinema, broadcasters, digital platforms and live experiences around the world. Recent celebrated projects include the ‘visually astonishing’ (Guardian), BAFTA® nominated console game, 11-11: Memories Retold, the four-times Gold Cannes Lions-winning StorySign app, AR experience Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix up - and innovative attractions for both the domestic and international market, including a 4D theatre attraction at Efteling in the Netherlands.

The studio runs the Aardman Academy which has a commitment to nurturing talent by delivering excellence in film and animation training and mentoring. The Aardman Academy offers a variety of courses from intensive one-day workshops teaching production skills and storyboarding, to comprehensive twelve-week courses for professionals in craft based subjects from model making to animation.

In November 2018 it became an Employee Owned Organisation, to ensure Aardman remains independent and to secure the creative legacy and culture of the company for many decades to come. www.aardman.com

 

About Shaun the Sheep

Shaun the Sheep, Aardman’s family favourite TV series, is recognised the world over for its slapstick humour, distinctive look and strong, quirky characters and enjoyed across multiple media platforms. First appearing in Nick Park’s 1995 Academy Award® winning Wallace & Gromit ‘A Close Shave’, Shaun then went on to star in his own series, created by Richard Starzak which launched on BBC One in 2007. Shaun the Sheep is currently broadcast in 170 territories around the world and is an internationally celebrated icon with over 5.6 million fans on Facebook. In 2015 the first Shaun the Sheep Movie with feature film partner Studiocanal was released around the world to critical acclaim and the first half hour TV special aired as part of many broadcaster’s festive season., The feature film sequel Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon was released in October 2019 and nominated for an Academy Award® and was closely followed by a sixth season of the series in 2020. A new festive special Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas was released in December 2021.

 

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more at https://www.esa.int/