Kepler, the lovable pooch, poses with ISS astros

The news has been kept secret ever since the ATV launch in February, but now we can finally announce it: ATV Johannes Kepler carried canine cargo to the ISS, and, yes… there’s a dog in space! For over a month, man’s best friend, nicknamed Kepler by the crew, has been happily wagging his tail in zero-g and helping sniff out misplaced bags of space doggy biscuits.

While there’s been no official confirmation of the dog in space from ESA or NASA, we were able to obtain this exclusive photo, taken just a few days ago before the undocking of Japan’s HTV-2, and we are happy to publish it just in time for April Fool’s Day! 🙂