The intrepid space explorer, who in 1969 became the world’s first beagle to land on the lunar surface — at least in the Peanuts comic strips drawn by the late Charles M. Schulz — is set to fly for real aboard NASA’s first Artemis mission in 2022. Snoopy, in plush form, will serve as the “zero-g indicator” on the Artemis I Orion spacecraft as it loops around the moon.
Snoopy made a similar journey more than 50 years ago, flying with “Charlie Brown” as the call signs for the lunar and command modules that flew astronauts on a final dress rehearsal before the first moon landing.
“I will never forget watching the Apollo 10 mission with my dad, who was so incredibly proud to have his characters participate in making space exploration history,” Craig Schulz, son of cartoonist and producer of “The Peanuts Movie,” said in a statement. “I know he would be ecstatic to see Snoopy and NASA join together again to push the boundaries of human experience.”