NASA is taking Rocket Raccoon and Groot into space. The US space agency unveiled a new mission patch featuring the two characters, which will be worn by astronauts working at the National Laboratory in the International Space Station (ISS). The patch shows Rocket sitting on Groot’s shoulder as both look into the sky at the ISS.
At a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Patrick O’Neill, a representative for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) which oversees the National Laboratory, explained why they chose Rocket and Groot for the patch. “These are characters who have a bit of a space-based background to begin with,” said O’Neill. “So both of [these] characters already embody some of the characteristics associated with what’s happening on the space station.”
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CASIS also plans to use the pair in an upcoming educational flight contest later this year, presumably geared towards children.
Rocket and Groot have a big year ahead of them. In addition to the patch, the pair will also return in next summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and currently star in their own Rocket Raccoon and Groot comic written by Nick Kocher and illustrated by Michael Walsh.
(via The Verge)
