Paris: The European Space Agency (ESA) and The Pokémon Company International have launched a new collaboration combining space science with the popular Pokémon universe. The partnership will feature a Europe-wide exhibition during World Space Week 2026, scheduled from October 4 to 10.

A special Pikachu plush toy has already travelled to the International Space Station, spending 67 days in orbit during ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot’s mission. According to ESA, the character was in space from April 11 to June 17, 2026, completing approximately 1,040 orbits around Earth.

Space Science Meets Popular Culture

The collaboration is designed to introduce space exploration to a wider audience, particularly children and families. The planned exhibition will combine scientific information from ESA with Pokémon-themed storytelling.

Visitors will be able to explore different aspects of European space activities, including how spacecraft are launched, how astronauts work aboard the International Space Station and how scientists study the Sun, planets and the wider Universe.

Pikachu’s Journey to the ISS

The space-faring Pikachu travelled aboard the International Space Station as part of Sophie Adenot’s mission. Its 67-day stay provided an unusual link between a globally recognised entertainment character and real human spaceflight.

The character completed roughly 1,040 trips around Earth during its time aboard the orbital laboratory, according to ESA.

Making Space More Accessible

ESA has increasingly focused on communicating space science to the public through educational activities, exhibitions and interactive programmes.

The new collaboration provides another way of presenting complex scientific subjects through familiar characters and visual storytelling. The exhibition will explain European space programmes while maintaining a format intended to be accessible to younger audiences.

What Visitors Can Discover

The exhibition is expected to cover several areas of space exploration, including:

• European launch systems and missions
• Life and work aboard the International Space Station
• Research on the Sun
• Exploration of the Solar System
• Scientific study of the wider Universe
• Europe’s contribution to human spaceflight

The combination of real scientific information and imaginative storytelling is intended to encourage curiosity about space and science.

World Space Week 2026

The initiative is being launched around World Space Week, an annual international event dedicated to celebrating the contributions of space science and technology to society.

ESA said the exhibition will provide families across Europe with an opportunity to explore the agency’s work through a new educational format.

A New Approach to Science Communication

The partnership demonstrates how space agencies can use popular culture to introduce scientific subjects to audiences who may not normally follow space missions.

With the International Space Station journey of Pikachu and the upcoming Europe-wide exhibition, ESA is combining entertainment, education and real-world space exploration in a single public engagement initiative.