Burns Night: Haggis travels to the edge of space!

We've had a pie in the sky, slime in space and now the first ever haggis has gone high above the Earth!

Scotland's national dish is usually eaten on Burns Night, which celebrates the Scottish poet Robert Burns, but this year the pudding had a very different experience.

Instead of being boiled and eaten it was attached to a weather balloon and sent up more than 20 miles (107,293ft) above the Earth!

That's nearly four times as high as Mount Everest.

The haggis was attached to a camera so it could get this stunning selfie!

Why was it launched?

It was launched by a space education and research company called Stratonauts and Simon Howie, the butcher who made it.

He said: "After a year like no other, we wanted to kick off 2021 by lifting the spirits of the general public.

"We hope that our space haggis gives everyone some much-needed cheer."

The people behind the unusual launch say it was to celebrate Burns Night but also to inspire young people to get into Science Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects.

They plan to do science workshops with local schools once the pandemic is over.

How far did it travel?

After taking off from Dunning, it travelled over Stirling, Falkirk, Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills before landing safely in Lauder in the Borders.

The haggis was in the air for two hours, 37 minutes and covered a distance of 52 miles.

What happened to it after it landed?

Lewis Campbell, Stratonauts director, said: "After reaching over 107,000ft with views of at least 250 miles, the haggis then fell to Earth at nearly 200mph before the parachute took over - meaning it is also probably the fastest haggis in the world too."

The haggis was collected and taken back to where it was made but after its amazing journey it is now too special to eat so it is being kept safe because it is the 'first haggis in space'.