However, the weather may prevent Astronaut Snoopy from taking off, just as it has for other explorers who have donned spacesuits.On Thursday (Nov. 28), in honour of the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Snoopy will make his return as a new, NASA-inspired balloon.
However, Snoopy and the other huge character balloons in the 93rd edition of the Christmas celebration could be grounded if New York City experiences strong winds. In the last hours before the parade, Snoopy will receive the “go/no go” call for takeoff.
“It will be a game day decision,” stated NYPD Chief Terence Monahan at a press conference on Wednesday. “Just wanted to let you know that my preferred parade balloon has returned. Now that Snoopy is back, we can finally send the balloons on their way.”For the 40th time, Astronaut Snoopy may participate in a parade if he choose to soar to the skies.
Ready to Blast Out into Space
To represent his “world-famous flying ace” persona from the Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy took to the skies for the first time in the parade in 1968. In the same year that “Charlie Brown” and “Snoopy” soared to the moon as the names of the Apollo 10 command and lunar modules, and two months after the Apollo 11 moon landing, his first stint as an astronaut was inspired by a balloon at a parade.
Piper stated, “Back in the day, Macy’s would take a balloon and turn it into a new design by altering the head and sometimes the pose.” Hence, “in his second life, the original Flying Ace Snoopy became the Astronaut Snoopy.”
A white spacesuit, blue boots, and a “Snoopy” communication cap were once featured on the Astronaut Snoopy balloon. In honour of the Orion Crew Survival System, which will be worn by astronauts on the next Artemis missions to the moon and Mars, Astronaut Snoopy has updated his style to reflect the times.
Step Forward Towards The World’s Largest Balloon
If the weather cooperates and Astronaut Snoopy has a successful flight, NASA believes the balloon will encourage more kids to get involved with the organisation and develop an appreciation for space travel. There will be a recognition of the NASA staff as well.
Last Words
Barbara Zelon, acting communications integration manager for human exploration and operations at NASA’s headquarters in Washington, DC, said, “I’m seeing Astronaut Snoopy in the Macy’s parade as tremendously inspiring for the workforce.” “Many happy people have reached out to us, and I can’t count them all. In my opinion, it is a culmination of the hard effort of many people over a long period of time.”
