Curious George astronaut

Curious George plays with a rover on Mars in a new episode airing May 19, 2014.

"Though history records a rhesus monkey named 'Albert II' as the true first monkey to leave the Earth, Curious George's fictional adventures have added to the cultural stories born out of and influenced by humanity's curiosity about space exploration, " Pearlman added.

Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat blast off to Mars. Curious George is blasts off to Mars in a new episode airing May 19, 2014.

Real-life NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg will stop by to talk about her recent trip to the International Space Station during the episode. Nyberg spent about six months as a crewmember on the orbiting outpost before flying back to Earth in November. She will discuss the science of spaceflight and experiments performed on the space station.

Other astronauts who have flown to the space station are also fans of "Curious George."

"In February 2008, Curious George traveled into real space in the form of a T-shirt flown by astronaut and former NASA associate administrator of education, Leland Melvin, " Pearlman said. "Melvin told collectSPACE he flew the shirt because it was one of the books his mother read to him as a child and that he 'always liked the fact that [George] was curious about life.'"

Young space fans can also play some cosmic "Curious George" video games online in anticipation of the new episode premiering next week. The games include "George's Planet Quest, " "Curious George and the Rocket, " "George's Paintbox" and a video all about space. Play the games here:

"Red Planet Monkey" airs Monday on PBS Kids. Check local listings. Learn more about the episode here:

Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, and Google+ Space.com