Space and dogs are awesome on their own, but put them together, and it's almost too much to handle.
That's what we discovered when one of astronaut Leland D. Melvin's official NASA portraits went viral. The photo shows Melvin in an orange spacesuit, American flag and a model of a space shuttle in the background, along with a couple of visitors, Melvin's two dogs.
This is an official portrait for astronaut Leland Melvin. Also, his handle is @Astro_Flow. I'm in awe. pic.twitter.com/KHWVo94mZO
— Adam Aton (@AdamAton) January 28, 2015
The photo gained steam online after newspaper reporter Adam Aton tweeted about it on Wednesday. Isn't it amazing how well Melvin is able to keep his composure in this photo with one dog licking his ear and the other one seemingly going beserk? Is that part of NASA's training?
Melvin took part in two flight missions, one in 2008 and another in 2009. He also served as NASA's associate administrator for education before retiring in February 2014. These days, he's the host of Lifetime's new competition series Child Genius, where gifted kids compete in the ultimate intelligence competition.
However, Melvin is no stranger to reality TV. He previously appeared on — what else — Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan a few years ago and in a special space-themed episode of it to boot. Melvin was on the show with the same dogs in his amazing NASA portrait, Jake, a Rhodesian ridgeback and chow mix, and Scout, a Rhodesian ridgeback and golden retriever mix. He appeared on Dog Whisperer to try to get Jake to be friendlier toward others.
"Jake is very protective of Leland and won't let anyone approach him. He's often nipped and tried to bite many of Leland's friends," according to a description of Jake on the Dog Whisperer's website. It's unclear if Melvin's portrait was taken before or after this Dog Whisperer appearance, but Melvin does have proof that his dogs can behave.
“@isorude_mark: @Astro_Flow You have the best astronaut photo!”Thx Mark. The time when they were behaving during pic.twitter.com/hvlZjAIVkN — Leland Melvin (@Astro_Flow) January 24, 2015
Note Melvin's equally awesome Twitter handle, @Astro_Flow. And in case you were wondering, yes, Melvin did sneak Jake and Scout into the NASA studio for that shot.
“@chrisfloyduk: @AdamAton @marthaburzynsk AF told me he snuck his dogs into the NASA studio 4 that shot. Is that right, Leland?” Yes sir!
— Leland Melvin (@Astro_Flow) January 29, 2015
As if this delightful portrait wasn't enough, there are also photos of Melvin posing with Pharrell Williams, will.i.am and Elmo over on his official website. Can this guy get any cooler?
