The year 1638 saw the publication of The Man in the Moone by English bishop Francis Godwin. In this utopian fantasy tale, humans travel to the Moon by harnessing a flock of specially trained, especially hearty geese, vacuum of space be damned.

The realities of physics haven't stopped artist Agnes Meyer-Brandis from training a flock of geese to someday fly to the Moon. Thanks to rigorous astronaut training exercises and plenty of acclimation to a crater-pocked lunar model, an invincible generation of astrobird should be ready for an expedition by 2024.

This is the Moon Goose Analogue project. This is their story.

To create her new breed of supergeese, Meyer-Brandis first had to build her 11-gosling team a false Moon in a shed in Pollinaria, Italy. It was here that important experiments were conducted with dandelions, the geese's favorite food, which the artist is attempting to grow in low Italian gravity. She also gave them astronaut names for inspiration and taught her avianauts to travel in a V-formation, à la Godwin's Moon birds.

Finally, she constructed a control room in Liverpool to monitor her brave astroflock from afar. You can watch their disgustingly cute progress above, and behold some equally "d'aww" photos below.

An installation detailing the Moon Goose Analogue project will be on display at Newcastle's Great North Museum: Hancock through March 31, 2012. For more information about this groundbreaking experiment, visit the MGA website and The Arts Catalyst, who funded the exhibition on Agnes' lunar endeavor.

[Via We Make Money Not Art]