@europeanspaceagency

Keeping up with Shaun the Sheep 🌕 🐑 @shaunthesheep has been assigned a seat on the Artemis I mission to the Moon in this weekly series we follow the intrepid wooly astronaut during his training sessions. Shaun got exclusive access to the Large Diameter Centrifuge based at our technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This spinning device is devoted to research that gives scientists access to high acceleration levels for minutes, days or even weeks on end. Shaun the Sheep took a spin in this centrifuge to recreate the forces felt on launch and landing. He experienced peak loads of up to 8 g! Although the gondola has no windows, astronauts don’t have a sense of the rotation, but feel the pressure within their body. During each spin and through the breaks, the astronaut’s vestibular system is shaken. This training is there to hopefully help them avoid any motion sickness during the ride in space. There are many technical challenges when planning missions to the Moon and beyond, but maybe the most important question is: what should the astronauts have for dinner? Diet plays an important role in maintaining physical and mental wellbeing, especially during long-duration missions on the @iss. Astronauts exercise for at least two hours a day, six days a week, to combat muscle and bone loss caused by extended stays in microgravity, and they must eat specially prepared and nutritionally balanced meals. An average astronaut will typically have three meals every day in space and is expected to consume around 2500-3000 calories per day. For our astronauts, two thirds of this calorie intake comes from the basic food supply that is preselected and prepacked by @nasa for the entire space mission. The final third of their calories comes from ‘crew choice meals’ – food that the astronauts choose for themselves, either from the US menu or a range of European, Russian and Japanese options. Follow Shaun's training for Artemis I and preparations for the first European Service Module flight to the Moon on blogs.esa.int/orion/ 📸 ESA/Aardman - @sarahjanemuirheadphotography #ShaunTheSheep #ForwardToTheMoon, #ExploreFarther #Artemis #AstronautTraining