Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/DRBfdUM7JA
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 30, 2020
Listen in to hear @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug on-obrit→ https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK pic.twitter.com/knZYkyby8K
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 30, 2020
However, Netizens noticed the presence of a third crew member in their spacecraft which was a shimmery, plush stuffed dinosaur. The video of this dinosaur floating in the Falcon’s capsule has taken the internet by surprise.
Two humans (and one dinosaur) went to space today #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/U4CbHJShkw
— Brian Bosché (@BrianPBosche) May 30, 2020
But if you’re wondering, what that stuffed dino was doing in space and envying his stars for escaping Earth and 2020, welcome to the club.
the dinosaur was wearing a seatbelt I- #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/Id6eVOSRdY
— Tom (@Tom_Haisem98) May 30, 2020
Yesterday, the @SpaceX astronauts were accompanied by a little dinosaur (aka a model of our earth). Is this a coincidence?
— Dinosaur Earth Society (@DinosaurEarth) May 28, 2020
Research dinosaur earth sheeple #dinosaurEarth pic.twitter.com/5jhbyS8UbC
But after a bit of research, we discovered that the toy acted as a ‘zero-g indicator’. This means that this adorable dino has a huge role to play. When it started floating around the capsule, dino indicated to the crew members that they had reached zero gravity.
![](https://wp.scoopwhoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/5ed4953518ac816896860cfe_93cd85db-8bcb-4b82-b555-2f2004ee78d7.jpg)
And as surprising as it sounds, this is not the first time that a toy was flown to space with the astronauts.
Super high tech zero-g indicator added just before launch! pic.twitter.com/CRO26plaXq
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2019
However, there was a heartfelt story behind picking this stuffed dinosaur. Both astronauts Behnken and Hurley have a son, each and both of their boys are dinosaur enthusiasts.
![](https://wp.scoopwhoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/5ed4953518ac816896860cfe_6bb6587a-5c34-43a6-934a-dcb2a3eac3b1.jpg)
So before the launch, both the boys put all their dinosaur toys and then this sparkly, dino- astronaut was picked to accompany their fathers into space.
![](https://wp.scoopwhoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/5ed4953518ac816896860cfe_966507bb-e098-4f4f-8120-310fcb66a10a.jpg)
Various reports say that the four-legged sparkly astro-dinosaur is called Tremors. The two astronauts clarified the presence of their third passenger on board and said:
We do have an Apatosaurus aboard.
Well, looks like science has come a long way. It has managed to put a dinosaur in space, who would have thought?