14 DAY TRIAL // This coming Sunday, November 23, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, together with NASA astronaut Terry Virts and ESA daredevil Samantha Cristoforetti, will get comfy inside a Soyuz spacecraft and head for the International Space Station.
Interestingly enough, they won't complete this journey alone. On the contrary, they will be accompanied by Olaf the snowman, beloved star of Disney's “Frozen.” Well, not Olaf per se, but a plush doll of the animated character.
How and when did Olaf become an astronaut?
In a recent interview with the press, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov explained that it was his daughter who asked him to take the plush doll with him to the International Space Station. Naturally, the astronaut could not help but oblige.
“My youngest daughter is 8 years old and she selected that as a talisman,” the Russian cosmonaut told reporters, as cited by Space. “This guy will be flying with me,” space explorer Terry Virts confirmed in a Twitter post accompanied by a photo of the plush doll.
Should things go according to plan, Olaf the snowman and the three astronauts will leave Earth at 4:01 p.m. EST (21:01 GMT). They are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility.
As mentioned, Anton Shkaplerov, Terry Virst, Samantha Cristoforetti, and Olaf will travel to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. The crew should reach their destination about 6 hours after departure.
Having made it aboard the International Space Station, Russian astronaut Anton Shkaplerov will assume command of the satellite. The crew is scheduled to return to Earth several months from now, sometime in next year's May.
Olaf will have one very important mission
True, Olaf isn't the brightest snowman ever and his body is rather feeble and breakable. Still, this does not mean that he won't do his best to help ensure the success of this space mission. On the contrary, word has it that the this snowman has one very important mission on his hands.
Thus, it is understood that the plush toy will serve as the crew's zero-g indicator. What this means is that the snowman will be tied to the Soyuz spacecraft with a cord and that, when he will start floating about, the astronauts will know that they have successfully made it into space.
For the time being, Olaf the snowman has refused to make any comments on his upcoming space flight. Should he decide to open up about this expedition anytime soon, you can be sure you will learn about it here.
