Sunday, January 22, 2012

Snoopy in space?

So, you guys know Snoopy from "Penuts"?
                                                        this guy------>

Well in 1968, when the astronauts of the Apollo 10 lunar mission chose "Snoopy"  as the name of their lunar module , Snoopy became associated with NASA's space program.

your probly thinking "hold up a sec! I thought snoopy was a world war 1 flying ace."  well heres the thing. in the 1960's everyone in the US was really into the space race. so Charles Schulz converted Snoopy's  dog house from a world war 1 airplane in to a rocket ship. in the comic he actually beat the USA and the Russians to become the "first beagle to the moon!"

Now reacently an exibit on snoopy and his accotiation with NASA will be apearing at the Charles Schulz Museum  in Santa Rosa, Calif. for the purpose of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 10 mission.

In May 1969, Apollo 10 astronauts Gene Cernan, John Young and Thomas Stafford traveled all the way to the moon for one final checkout before the lunar landing attempt.

Because the mission required the lunar module to "snoop around" scouting the Apollo 11 landing site, the crew named the lunar module "Snoopy." Naturally, the Apollo command module was labeled "Charlie Brown."


The astronauts carried paintings of the duo on their spacecraft, with Charlie Brown in space coveralls and Snoopy in his Flying Ace scarf. They used the paintings to calibrate the cameras used for the first live color telecasts from space.

Apollo 10 astronauts Cernan and Stafford will join recovery team members Chuck Smiley and Wes Chesser at the museum on Jan. 31 to kick off the exhibition. Also attending: Jamye Flowers Coplin, a NASA secretary who was photographed bringing Snoopy to see the crew off  The exhibit will feature a one-third scale model of the Apollo command module from the Johnson Space Center, an Apollo-era flight suit, the actual image of Charlie Brown that was flown aboard Apollo 10, and a special children's area for creative play.

Snoopy's connection with NASA actually began before Apollo 10. In 1968, NASA chose the beagle as an icon who would quote: "Emphasize mission success and act as a 'watchdog' for flight safety."

Established that same year, the agency's "Silver Snoopy Award" is considered the astronauts personal award, given for basically trying really really hard. Award winners receive a sterling silver Snoopy lapel pin flown in space, along with a certificate and letter of appreciation from NASA astronauts. Fewer than 1% of the workforce is recognized with a Silver Snoopy annually, making it one of the most prized awards in the industry.pretty cool eh?



http://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/snoopy.html
 http://www.schulzmuseum.org/

1 comment:

  1. hahahahaha this is great! but why did they pick snoopy? why not charlie brown? or scooby doo?

    ReplyDelete