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Freelancer<\/p>\nFreelancer<\/p>\n
Courtney John’s design ‘Past, Present, and Future’ represents unity <\/p>\n
A plush toy designed in south-west Wales could be sent to space to help astronauts establish the presence of gravity on the Moon’s surface.<\/p>\n
Courtney John, 27, from Llanelli, is a finalist in a Nasa global design competition that will see mascots join the Artemis II Moon mission<\/a> to act as a zero gravity indicator (ZGI). <\/p>\n “I’ve always been interested in space, and the opportunity to have something you’ve made go into space would be amazing,” Courtney said. <\/p>\n She is one of 25 finalists for her design, “Past, Present, and Future”, which consists of three plush humanoids holding hands in a circle.<\/p>\n ZGIs are small items carried onboard spacecraft that show when it has reached the weightlessness of gravity – plush toys are effective ZGIs because they are soft and lightweight. <\/p>\n Courtney, a graphic designer, said she wanted to create a design that represented the “past, present and future” of space travel, while also celebrating unity. <\/p>\n One figure on her design, representing the past, is wearing the spacesuit from the Apollo 17 mission<\/a> – the last time humans set foot on the Moon on 19 December 1972 – while another is wearing the Artemis II spacesuit, representing the present.<\/p>\n The future is represented by a figure that has a globe for a head, and on its body are messages written by the Artemis II crew.<\/p>\n “It’ll be such a great achievement [for them to go into space], and when they’re in space they’ll be able to see how far they’ve gone,” Courtney said.<\/p>\n Courtney said she has “always been interested in space” and the thought of something she has designed heading to the Moon would be “the biggest achievement in my life”.<\/p>\n “But even being chosen as a finalist is amazing,” she said.<\/p>\n Humans last set foot on the Moon more than 50 years ago<\/p>\n There were more than 2,600 entries for the competition, which called for submissions representing “humanity, exploration and the spirit of the Artemis campaign”.<\/p>\n The winner is expected to be announced later this year.<\/p>\n Artemis, Nasa’s first Moon mission in more than 50 years, is a three-part series of undertakings aimed at putting people on the moon.<\/p>\n The Artemis I<\/a> mission had no astronauts, but was designed to fully test the Moon mission kit. It was successfully sent in orbit around the Moon in November 2022.<\/p>\n Artemis II, travelling with a crew onboard, will circle the Moon before returning to Earth, while Artemis III plans to land Nasa astronauts on the Moon’s surface.<\/p>\n The original plan was to have people walking on the Moon by the end of 2025, but the mission has been delayed several times.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1b03d8a0-828a-11f0-b582-ddd92628512a.jpg.webp.webp\")
Getty Images<\/p>\n