Astronaut Pikachu logs 1,040 orbits in 67 days aboard the ISS, ESA reveals

A stuffed Pikachu in a custom white space suit spent 67 days aboard the International Space Station this spring, completing about 1,040 orbits of Earth before returning home, the European Space Agency (ESA) and The Pokémon Company International revealed.

The plush rode a cargo ship to the station on April 11 and came home on another on June 17. The station circles Earth about every 90 minutes, and Pikachu kept the same pace. ESA and the company kept the flight quiet until Sept. 19, then used it to open World Space Week.

A surprise arrival

French ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot was already aboard the station when the cuddly toy arrived. It was intended to accompany her on her Epsilon mission but reached the station several months after she launched on Feb. 13.

Pikachu traveled aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus freighter. Adenot returned to Earth later on a SpaceX Dragon, ending a mission that lasted 237 days, 5 hours and 18 minutes, the longest time a European has remained in space. Along the way, she also conducted extra experiments and three spacewalks totaling 19 hours and 42 minutes.

A weightless mascot

Crews have long kept a light object handy as a zero-gravity indicator. When it starts drifting on its own, everyone can see the ship is weightless. This time, the indicator was Pikachu, dressed in a suit with a mission patch and a small cover to keep it from catching on the station’s handrails.

Photos show the plush drifting through the Cupola, the station’s large windowed module where the crew watches Earth go by. A video released this week follows it across Nodes 1 and 2 as Adenot points out parts of the station.

In the video, she shows the water recycling system, which recycles 98% of what the crew uses, including urine. She also shows the lab freezers, kept at minus 98 degrees Celsius (minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit) for storing blood samples and other experimental materials.

By the time the video was released, the plush had been back on Earth for several months, serving as an ESA mascot while Adenot remained in orbit.

Exhibit and Pokémon GO tie-in

A traveling Astronaut Pikachu exhibit will feature European mission technology, photos of the sun, information about life on the station, views of the solar system and Pokémon figures. The first leg was open to the public in Paris for two days at the end of September before moving to Rome, Noordwijk, Darmstadt and other cities.

It will then visit museums and science centers in London, Toulouse, Valencia, Nuremberg, Transinne and Lucca, before settling in Noordwijk until April 2027.

From Oct. 4 to April 30, 2027, Pokémon GO players who visit participating science and space museums around Europe can join one-star raids and other activities starring Astronaut Pikachu. During World Space Week, which runs Oct. 4 to 10, players can complete new tasks and research and will see higher spawn rates for some Pikachu encounters.

ESA’s Josef Aschbacher called the approach a good way to get people interested in space operations and possibly spark the next generation’s interest in how a station stays aloft.