ESA's new ISS video stars Pikachu, and it's linked to World Space Week
ESA has released a playful ISS video with Sophie Adenot and Pikachu for World Space Week and to spotlight Pokemon museum tie-ins in Europe.
The European Space Agency has shared an unexpected crossover for World Space Week. Instead of a mission update, the agency's latest release pairs astronaut Sophie Adenot with Pikachu for a tour of the International Space Station.
ESA said the video shows Adenot taking Pikachu around the ISS. In the clip below, "astronaut Pikachu" floats through the station as part of the light-hearted feature.
The release was created to mark World Space Week, but it also has a second purpose. ESA said the video is meant to promote Pokemon partnerships that are already present at many science museums across Europe.
That makes the video more than a one-off novelty. It is also being used to draw attention to museum collaborations that connect Pokemon with science spaces in different European locations.
For anyone wondering why Pikachu has turned up in orbit themed content, that is the key detail. ESA has timed the video around World Space Week and tied it directly to those existing museum partnerships, using Adenot's ISS tour with Pikachu as the hook.
So the real update is simple: ESA has put out a new World Space Week video featuring Sophie Adenot and Pikachu, and it is also intended to highlight Pokemon's links with many science museums in Europe.
