NASA’s Artemis II crew will include “Rise,” a stuffed figure designed by 8-year-old Lucas Ye, as its zero-gravity indicator and name keeper.
WASHINGTON — The four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission have an adorable crewmate for their trip around the moon.
The crew is joined by “Rise,” a small stuffed figure that will serve as the mission’s zero-gravity indicator — a time-honored spaceflight tradition in which a small, lightweight object is released at the moment of weightlessness to signal the crew’s arrival in space.
Rise was chosen from a worldwide contest open to students of all ages, and the winning submission came from 8-year-old Lucas Ye, a second-grader from Mountain View, California.
Mission Specialist Christina Koch, who announced the winner on behalf of the crew, said the selection process was personal.
“The crew personally participated in selecting our buddy, our stowaway to fly with us,” she said.
The name and design carry deep meaning for this particular mission. Rise is a direct reference to the iconic “Earthrise” photograph captured by astronaut Bill Anders during NASA’s Apollo 8 mission in December 1968 — the first crewed journey around the Moon.
That image, showing a brilliant blue Earth hovering above the lunar horizon against the blackness of space, is widely regarded as one of the most consequential photographs ever taken.
“It is a mission that sort of mirrors our own,” Koch said, noting that the Earthrise theme is woven throughout Artemis II — appearing on the crew’s mission patch and informing the team’s collective values. “So welcome aboard, Rise.”
The mascot carries a practical feature befitting its interplanetary role: a small zipper on the bottom conceals a micro SD card containing more than 3.1 million names of people who entered the “Fly Your Name” program.
“This is where that SD card will live — right here on our zero-G indicator,” he said.