Call it one small step for man, one giant leap for canine kind.
A NASA astronaut’s official portrait has become an internet sensation after he managed to sneak his two dogs into the frame.
Leland Melvin is seen beaming as his two beloved pets, Jake and Scout, snuggle up to him.
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Astro-dogs: Engineer and astronaut Leland Melvin snuck his two pooches, Jake and Scout, into his official NASA photo shoot
The photo shows Melvin, 50, clad in a spacesuit with a dog on either side.
The animals were clearly excited to be in the spotlight, or maybe they were just hoping to catch a ride to space.
After fans of the snap started tweeting at Melvin, he shared a bonus photo from when the dogs ‘were behaving’ during the shoot
After stumbling across the joyful snap, reporter Adam Aton shared it with his followers and tweeted it out to Melvin’s handle @Astro_flow.
The twitterverse quickly proclaimed Melvin their new favorite astronaut.
‘I stopped a meeting today so we could pass this around in awe. So amazing!’ tweeted another.
‘You are my favorite astronaut. I’m almost 30 years old. I’m not ashamed of what i am. Thanks for all you do!’, wrote one poster.
And Melvin made sure to get it on the fun, sharing another photo from when his dogs ‘were behaving’ during the photo shoot.
The portrait has since been retweeted over 2,000 times.
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But Twitter’s newest star is only a blip on Melvin’s long and varied list of accomplishments.
Melvin’s first job wasn’t in the galaxy but on the football field.
He was chosen by the Detroit Lions in the 1986 NFL Draft as a wide receiver, but was released from the team after pulling his hamstring during training camp.
A recovered Melvin tried his luck that next spring with the Dallas Cowboys but pulled his hamstring a second time.
Since his professional football career was over it was time for his back-up. Space.
Missouri reporter Adam Aton stumbled across the photo and tweeted it to Melvin and his followers. It has since been retweeted over 2,000 times
But Melvin (posing here with Barack and Michelle Obama) is more than just a Twitter superstar. He is currently the co-chair of a White House Education Task Force to help develop the nation’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education plan
The one-time NFL draft pick, pictured here with Elmo at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, also became the head of NASA Education after he was medically disqualified from returning to space
Melvin began working at NASA in 1989 and was selected as an astronaut in 1998.
He flew two missions on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2008 and 2009. He logged almost 10 million miles in space, with 374 orbits around the earth.
But Melvin’s astronaut career came to a sudden halt when he went deaf during a training exercise that required him to perform spacewalks under 25 feet of water.
Melvin confirmed to users on Twitter that he snuck his dogs into the photo shoot. But Jake and Scout are no strangers to the spotlight – they were once featured in a 2010 episode of The Dog Whisperer
After Melvin’s portrait went viral tweeters were quick to proclaim he was their new favorite astronaut
Although emergency surgery resulted in partial recovery of his hearing, he was medically disqualified from flying into space.
But just like with his NFL career, the roadblock didn’t stop Melvin.
The engineer is now the head of NASA Education and is the co-chair of a White House Education Task Force to help develop the nation’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education plan.
Melvin has traveled to schools across the country to promote STEM subjects to students and teachers alike
And as co-manager of NASA’s Educator Astronaut Program, he has traveled to schools across the country to promote STEM subjects to students and teachers.
Melvin is also the host of Child Genius, a show that follows some of the most gifted children in America as they prepare for a national intelligence competition.
Even Melvin’s dogs had already enjoyed a bit of fame before their most recent foray into Twitter stardom.
Jake and Scout appeared in a 2010 episode of The Dog Whisperer when Melvin sought help for the overprotective Jake, who often tried to bite his friend’s hands.
The educator, pictured here visiting schoolchildren, is also the host of Child Genius, a show that follows some of the country’s most gifted students as they prepare for a national intelligence competition