{"id":578,"date":"2025-12-20T03:00:37","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T02:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/100blogs.ovh\/36\/index.php\/2025\/12\/20\/moon-mascot-nasa-artemis-ii-zgi-design-challenge\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T09:04:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:04:44","slug":"moon-mascot-nasa-artemis-ii-zgi-design-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/100blogs.ovh\/36\/index.php\/2025\/12\/20\/moon-mascot-nasa-artemis-ii-zgi-design-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Moon Mascot: NASA Artemis II ZGI Design Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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4 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Lunar<\/a><\/figure>
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A graphic for the Moon Mascot: NASA Artemis II ZGI Design Challenge.<\/div>\n
Freelancer<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Whose Moon Mascot design will join the Artemis II astronauts on their historic voyage around the Moon in early 2026?<\/p>\n

Between March 7 and Jun. 16, 2025, NASA worked with crowdsourcing company Freelancer to seek design ideas from global creators for a zero gravity indicator that will fly aboard the agency\u2019s\u00a0Artemis II<\/a>\u00a0test flight.<\/p>\n

Zero gravity indicators are small, plush items carried aboard spacecraft to provide a visual indication of when the spacecraft and its crew reach space.<\/p>\n

For the first eight minutes after liftoff, the crew and their indicator nearby will still be pushed into their seats by gravity, and the force of the climb into space. When the main engines of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket\u2019s core stage cut off, gravity\u2019s restraints are lifted, but the crew will still be strapped safely into their seats \u2013 their zero gravity indicator\u2019s ability to float will provide proof that they\u2019ve made it into space.<\/p>\n

Artemis II marks the first time that the public has had a hand in creating a crew\u2019s mascot.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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The Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Over the course of about ten days, four astronauts will travel approximately 685,000 miles from Earth, venture around the Moon, and return home. The flight will\u2014for the first time with astronauts\u2014test NASA\u2019s human deep space exploration capabilities, including the agency\u2019s Exploration Ground Systems, SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, and Orion spacecraft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NASA has a long history of flying zero gravity indicators for human spaceflight missions. Many missions to the International Space Station include a plush item. A plush\u00a0Snoopy<\/a>\u00a0rode inside Orion during NASA\u2019s uncrewed Artemis I mission.<\/p>\n

\u00a0NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will venture around the Moon and back. The mission is the first crewed flight under NASA\u2019s Artemis campaign and is another step toward missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Contest<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Artemis II astronauts attended SXSW 2025 on March 7, 2025, and sat on a panel to discuss their upcoming mission around the Moon and answer questions from the audience. During the panel, commander Reid Wiseman showed the audience his zero gravity indicator from his Expedition 40 mission to the International Space Station. His zero gravity indicator was a toy giraffe named Giraffiti. Wiseman\u2019s mother gifted Giraffiti to his oldest daughter when she was born. When Wiseman embarked on his first mission to space, his kids gave him Giraffiti to take with him to space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis little guy spent every day with me in my crew quarters,\u201d said Wiseman. \u201cIt was a connection back home to my kids.\u201d <\/p>\n