A special Astronaut Pikachu plush travelled to the International Space Station as part of a collaboration between ESA and The Pokémon Company International, ESA reported on 21 September 2026. In the published image, the plush floats inside the Cupola, the European-built observation module that gives crews views of Earth.

According to ESA, the Station orbits about 400 km above Earth, circling the planet every 90 minutes and giving its crew around 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. Astronauts have lived and worked continuously aboard the Station since 2000, carrying out research in microgravity.

ESA said astronaut Sophie Adenot had spent more than 200 days in space during her εpsilon mission, conducting scientific research and completing three spacewalks over the summer to help maintain the orbiting laboratory. The agency described the partnership with Pokémon as aimed at inspiring the next generation of explorers, framing curiosity as the starting point for discovery in science and imagination alike.