This astronaut's picture has gone viral several times and it's not hard to see why. It's just the happiest NASA picture you could possibly take. It's definitely not a serious one anyway. Everyone who sees it is like... yes. That's how you take a NASA photo.
But why were the dogs there? What's the story behind it?
Well, the astronaut's name is Leland Melvin and his first trip into orbit was back in 2008. He's spent over 565 hours in space which you could say is a really good use of time. Especially compared to the 565 hours I spend a month sat on my couch eating crisps and watching Netflix.
Speaking to Gizmodo, Melvin explained exactly what went on behind the scenes of his viral photo. Well, the first point is that the dogs' names are Jake and Scout and they're rescue dogs.
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He originally rescued Jake, but then one day he found Melvin in his garden. "I was cooking a turkey and Jake was right beside me waiting for something to drop, and my neighbor came over and said, 'Leland, Jake's in the front yard.' I was confused because Jake was next to me," Melvin said.
"I went outside and there was this dog in my yard. So I brought him in, and he had no collar or tag. No one claimed him...I think someone might have dumped him because he had heart worms."
He literally nursed Melvin back to health and then kept him along with Jake.
When it comes to the photo, Melvin had to sneak them in. He explained: "I had a van and I drove the dogs in. NASA doesn't allow dogs to be on-site, so when I showed them my NASA badge, I kept the window up...and I had the stereo blasting because the dogs were barking.
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"So I gunned it and the [security guard] didn't chase me or anything."
He took them upstairs to the photo area. "I had all these dog bones, and they were just sitting there eating the bones, just grubbin' and happy.
"The dogs just ran over to me. And [I said] the guy who took the picture, Robert Markowitz, 'Dude, start shooting!'"
It resulted in the most wholesome picture ever. Look how nice this is.
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"Jake was nibbling my ear. "Scout was all up in my grill, like, 'Hey, what's going on here? What is he doing?' But if you look at the picture, all of us are holding hands, all of us are connected. And it was just incredible,
"That picture was just amazing to me," explained Melvin.
Sadly, both dogs have since passed away. But their legacy lives on in the form of viral fame.
Good boys.
Featured Image Credit: NASA
