This story was updated on Feb. 17, 2009.
Next month,
astronauts will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) taking eight
endangered species chimpanzees with them on the space shuttle. The apes are not
part of a biological study, as NASA launched nearly 50 years ago, but are
rather for dessert.
You see,
the chimps are actually chocolate and by eating them, the
astronauts are helping to save real life chimps here on Earth.
The
bar-shaped "Supreme Dark Chocolate" candy, which is produced
by Endangered Species Chocolate of Indiana features a picture of a chimpanzee
on its wrapper.
"Every
single bar has printed on it '10% of net profits [are] donated to help support
species, habitat and humanity'", explained Renee Sweany, who manages
public relations and advertising for the company. "Our biggest goal is to
raise money that we can then give back to organizations that are focused on
conservation."
It was a
"very cool surprise" Sweany told collectSPACE when they learned their
chocolates were space-bound.
"United
Space Alliance contacted us looking for stores where they could purchase the
bars," she recalled. "They received the request and contacted us to
let us know."
United
Space Alliance, which prepares the "crew choice" pantry aboard the shuttle, packed the eight bars for
flight.
The snack
request was made by the crew of STS-119, who will fly the 14-day mission aboard shuttle Discovery.
The bars
were packed as one of their desserts. That the candy helps
the chimpanzees and other animals was only a bonus.
The crew
plans to share the chocolates with the crew of the International Space Station,
including Sandy Magnus, who is known to have an affinity for chocolate. She
will return to Earth with Discovery after three months aboard the outpost.
In addition
to returning Magnus to the ground and bringing her replacement, Japanese
astronaut Koichi Wakata to the station, the mission will deliver and install a
new truss segment as well as the fourth and final set of solar array wings to
provide power to the ISS.
Sweany said
that everyone at Endangered Species was excited by the upcoming spaceflight.
Previously, the most "exotic" location that their chocolates had
traveled were to Ivory Coast and Peru, where their all-natural and organic
cocoa is grown.
"Nothing
compares to actually leaving the Earth," Sweany declared.
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