Snoopy comes home: NASA photos show ‘zero-g indicator’ after trip to the moon

January 12, 2023

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Snoopy has come house.

The “world well-known astronaut” splashed down aboard NASA’s Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft in December, nevertheless it was not till final week that Snoopy — or moderately an opulent model of the caricature beagle — was able to be removed from the flown-to-the-moon capsule (opens in new tab). NASA photographs taken on Jan. 5 present the doll being rigorously dealt with earlier than being packed again into its carry case.

The pictures are the primary time that the doll has been seen in close-up because it was launched on the Artemis I mission on NASA’s first Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Nov. 16, 2022. Through the 25.5-day flight, which logged greater than 1.4 million miles (2.3 million km) looping round the moon, Snoopy was solely seen at a distance, floating on the finish of his leash (in any other case referred to as a tether) on the backside of Orion’s crew cabin as considered from a digicam mounted on the aft wall.

Associated: NASA opens hatch of Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft (photo)

A color-altered picture highlights Snoopy floating aboard NASA’s Artemis I Orion spacecraft because the moon mission’s “zero-g indicator.” (Picture credit score: NASA)

The custom-made doll served because the mission’s “zero-g indicator,” (opens in new tab) a practice that was borrowed from the Russian space program that makes use of toys to sign when the spacecraft has entered the microgravity atmosphere of space.

The brand new photographs present Snoopy isn’t any worse the wear and tear for the journey. Sporting a large smile, the plush flew to the moon and again in a miniature model of NASA’s Orion Crew Survival System (OCCS) strain go well with, made out of some of the same materials (opens in new tab) used to provide the true clothes. A full-size go well with was additionally examined on Artemis I, as worn by “Commander Moonikin Campos,” an instrumented model named after an Apollo 13 engineer.

After touchdown off the coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula on Dec. 11, Snoopy and Commander Campos stayed contained in the Orion capsule because it was transported by truck from Naval Base San Diego in California to the Kennedy House Middle in Florida. The spacecraft was delivered to NASA’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility on Dec. 30.

Engineers have now eliminated a few of Orion’s exterior again shell panels and have opened the hatch because the capsule undergoes post-flight research and evaluation.

NASA's Artemis I Orion capsule is secured on a platform inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft is now being unpacked of its equipment and undergoing post-flight engineering study.

NASA’s Artemis I Orion capsule is secured on a platform contained in the Multi-Payload Processing Facility on the Kennedy House Middle in Florida. The spacecraft is now being unpacked of its gear and present process post-flight engineering research. (Picture credit score: NASA/Ben Smegelsky)

The Artemis 1 mission was primarily flown as a check of the spacecraft’s warmth protect, proving it may safely return from the moon and reenter Earth’s atmosphere. The flight additionally verified that Orion’s methods had been able to assist flying astronauts as deliberate for the Artemis 2 mission focused for launch in late 2024 or 2025.

Although this was Snoopy’s first flight to the moon as a zero-g indicator, his historical past with NASA dates again the Apollo program when illustrator Charles Schulz agreed to the character symbolizing NASA’s safety culture and mission success (opens in new tab). The Apollo 10 lunar module was named “Snoopy” (the command module was “Charlie Brown”) and the “Silver Snoopy” is among the highest honors NASA astronauts award to workers and contractors for his or her assist bringing them house safely.

For Artemis I, Snoopy wore a miniature version of NASA's Orion Crew Survival System suit made from authentic materials.

For Artemis I, Snoopy wore a miniature model of NASA’s Orion Crew Survival System go well with produced from genuine supplies. (Picture credit score: NASA/Isaac Watson)

In 2018, NASA and Peanuts Worldwide expanded the usage of Snoopy and the entire Peanuts gang as new mascots (opens in new tab) for science, expertise, engineering and arithmetic (STEM) training and the space company’s deep space missions.

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