A Bakewell tart has literally been lost in space

We've seen all sorts of objects sent into space in the last few years.

There have been toys, songs, pizzas and even a car, but we think a school in Derbyshire may have just won the prize for the best/weirdest thing ever sent into space.

Using nothing but a high altitude balloon, students at St. Anselm's Preparatory School launched a humble Bakewell tart to the edges of space on Monday.

If this was a normal story we would probably end this article here, but at around 52,500 ft (somewhere over Saxilby, Lincolnshire) contact with the pudding was lost.

That's right. A Bakewell tart is literally lost in space.

A tweet sent by Stephen Fry about the pastry subsequently went viral and people went all out on the puns.

The idea for the experiment was to see if the pastry could still be eaten once it had returned to Earth as it would have been exposed to -36°C.

Since the balloon and the pastry were lost it is sadly now impossible for the students to conduct this side of the experiment.

Speaking to BBC News, Liz Scott, who is the director of studies at the school was still hopeful that the Bakewell tart will turn up, somewhere:

Last year, we launched a high-altitude balloon in preparation for this experiment and it was found by a couple on a beach near Skegness, who used the contact details on the balloon to let us know where it ended up.

We're hoping the same thing will happen again and we'll find out where the pudding ends up.

£1,600 has been raised by the school for Guide Dogs for the Blind as the experiment was sponsored by local firms.

HT IFL Science

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