'Amalthea 717' is a bulky prototype of a bionic sheep, an electromechanical sibling to Dolly, the first mammal in history to be successfully cloned from an adult somatic cell, in 1996. Standing on its two back feet, the sheep is looking out the window and observing the world outside. 'Amalthea 717' is named after Amalthea – “tender goddess” in Old Greek – the adoptive animal-mother of Zeus in the Greek Mythology, whose skin was taken after her death and used by Zeus as an element of protection. Amalthea is also the name of one of the moons of Jupiter, the reddest star in the solar system, which takes 717 minutes to orbit Jupiter. The robotic body of 'Amalthea 717' is covered by real merino sheepskin.

Part of the ongoing project 'Chemistry and Physics in the Household'