Frog spacecraft launch photobomb Nasa LADEE airborne amphibian Virginia

This is the bizarre moment a frog appeared to photobomb a space rocket as it was launched to the Moon.

The unlucky creature was caught on camera mid-air, silhouetted against the flames and smoke from the Nasa spacecraft in Virginia.

It's unclear how exactly the frog came to be airborne so high, but Nasa insist the photo is real and hasn't been doctored.

It was pictured metres up in the air as the LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) lifted off from the Wallops facility on Friday.

Although Nasa say the photo is real, the date on the image is incorrect, as it was taken in 2013, not 2012.
Sadly, things don't look good for the high-flying amphibian.

A Nasa spokesperson said: 'The photo team confirms the frog is real and was captured in a single frame by one of the remote cameras used to photograph the launch.

'The condition of the frog, however, is uncertain.'

The frog isn't the first creature to appear during a spacecraft launch.

Earlier this week footage emerged of a herd of cows becoming startled during the SpaceX Grasshopper launch.

And in 2009, a bat which quickly became known as 'Space Bat', was seen clinging to the external tank of the Space Shuttle Discovery.