Bristol's Shaun the Sheep to fly on mission to the moon

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the TV series

Shaun the Sheep has been assigned a seat on the NASA spacecraft which will be heading on a mission to the Moon.

Animators Aardman has announced that the famous stop-motion TV character will be aboard the unmanned Artemis I mission.

The flight will kick off the Artemis program which will eventually return astronauts to the surface of the Moon.

The mission will see the toy Shaun fly almost 311,000 miles (500,000 km) from Earth.

The first flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft will not be carrying a crew but will be controlled from the ground.

The spacecraft will carry a range of mementos with cultural significance.

The lift-off for the Orion is scheduled for 29 August

The European Space Agency's (ESA), director for human and robotic exploration, Dr David Parker, said: "It is an exciting time for Shaun and ESA.

"We're very happy he's been selected for the mission and we understand, although it might be a small step for a human, it's a giant leap for lambkind."

Orion will be launched by the Space Launch System rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, scheduled for 29 August.

The Space Launch System is a new rocket for lunar exploration

The spacecraft will perform a flyby of the moon, using lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself more than 43,000 miles (70,000 km) beyond the Moon.

Lucy Wendover, marketing director at Aardman, said: "Aardman is excited to be joining ESA in making history by launching the first 'sheep' into space.

"As one of the first astronauts to fly an Artemis mission, Shaun is leading the way in lunar exploration, a great honour for our woolly adventurer."

Shaun the Sheep last returned to TV in a 2021 Christmas special