Last week’s launch of LADEE — the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer — from NASA’s Wallops Island facility was one for the history books, as it marked the first space launch from Virginia. It also may be the first time a frog has attempted to tag along.

As Universe Today first noted, a frog was photographed leaping into the air while LADEE began its journey to the moon.

Jeremy L. Eggers, a spokesman for the Wallops Flight Facility, said in an email that the photo, which is authentic, “was taken by a still camera on a sound trigger set up at Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0B” for LADEE’s launch.

“There were about eight or nine frames in the sequence, however, this is the only one showing the image of a frog,” Eggers wrote before ominously adding, “LADEE is doing well right now, but we are not certain of the frog’s fate.”

(NASA Wallops Flight Facility/Chris Perry)