Space agency and nasa. it was a big surprise when shaun was selected to go to the moon. virtually couldn t believe it. it seemed incredible. it s every child s dream, isn t it? famously, to be an astronaut around the moon. and so the fact that shaun was doing it for us seemed very, very important. on the far side of the moon, i mean, that extraordinary is that our our baby, our creation. it took a lot of work to get shaun into shape for the mission, making him a great fit for thejob. it s perfect for shaun, really. he s such a cute, cheeky little character and can only imagine he would love to have such a big adventure. it s always what he s trying to do. and this was the rocket shaun was riding on, blasting off last november for the start of the artemis mission, giving him a close up view of the moon. others are hoping they ll also see one day. it s an absolute thrill to be thinking about following in shaun s footsteps, going around
Not too often i bring you shaun the sheep news, staff are something we can put right but i can spend a few minutes on it now. following his journey around the moon and back aboard the artemis i mission, the european space agency is hoping shaun the sheep will inspire the next generation to follow in his footsteps and get the space bug. one small step for man a giant leap for lambkind as our science editor rebecca morelle reports. he left his family and friends on mossy bottom farm to pursue a lofty new career, taking him to the moon and beyond. now, sean the sheep s back on earth for a hero s welcome at aardman studios in bristol. shaun is the first european space agency astronaut to the moon. congratulations, shaun. he s been presented with an official astronaut certificate from the european
Don t know about these animals that were swimming in this ancient inland sea 100 million years ago including how many species of these long-necked plesiosaurs, for instance, or something as simple as that, just how many species there were, we don t really know exactly. so this animal here that has a head with a body attached to it allows us to unravel some of that species diversity. while some amateur pal i don t know tolling gists called the rock chicks made the discovery, the three women go around australia hunting for fossils. just ahead, the artemis i mission is almost over as nasa waits for the orion space capsule to reenter earth s atmosphere in the coming hours. we will have a report. new dove body wash with microbiome nutrient serum transforms the driest skin in 1 shower. with powerful, easy-to-use tools
The orion capsule will separate from its service module then complete a skip maneuver off the edge of the earth s atmosphere which will bring it closer to its landing site and cut down on the g forces that future astronauts will have to endure. after that all eyes are on the heat shield as orion blazes back to earth at temperatures twice as hot as molten lava. nasa says the heat shield has been tested more than 1,000 times and making sure it can take the heat is one of the primary goals of this mission. from the outset the uncrewed artemis i mission has been a dry run to make sure the spacecraft is safe enough for astronauts to fly on board. we are stressing it and testing it in ways that we will not do to a rocket that has a human crew on it. reporter: if artemis i is a success it will be followed by
Retirement of the space shuttle fleet back in 2011. this rocket that got the orion spacecraft up into the moon s orbit, it endured so many technical setbacks. it almost got hit by it did get hit by one hurricane, almost by another. nasa really breathing a sigh of relief that artemis 1, this first beginning of the artemis program had a successful ending and a successful splashdown in the pacific ocean today. all right. good news. thanks so much. up next, i will speak to a former astronaut about the orion capsule and what that means for nasa s mission to the moon. you are in the cnn newsroom on this sunday. a holiday tree lighting ends in a brawl involving an l.a. cou council member. activists are demanding he resign. the story is next. stay with us.