Aspiring to become an astronaut, he works as a member of the cleanup crew for the Star Lab run by the Professor (a dog), who is the smartest scientist on Earth and in charge of Outer Space. On the tiny planet of Mikkop, an erupting crater called the Big Sparkler, a popular tourist attraction, is inexplicably slowing down. The Professor orders his team to build a small spaceship that can carry a robotic astronaut into space to assess the problem. When the robot malfunctions, Hedgie is the only one who can fit into the vehicle, and off he zooms.