You can now own your own little Artemis II Rise plushie

Space fans can now order Rise, the plushie that stole the world’s hearts when it flew around the moon with the Artemis II astronauts. 

The soft, squishy toy is what’s known as a zero-gravity indicator, a small object that floats to show the crew and mission control when the capsule has reached space. The tradition dates back to the early 1960s and has continued with Beanie Babies, Snoopy, Baby Yoda, and other stuffed animals that sometimes reach mascot status.

Dreamed up by second-grader Lucas Ye, Rise is a smiling moon wearing a cap that resembles Earth. The design represents the famous Earthrise image taken during Apollo 8, when humans first saw our home planet hovering just above the moon’s horizon.

Lucas crafted his own prototype before winning a NASA contest last year out of more than 2,600 entries. The crew  — Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — had the final pick. During the mission, Rise had an SD card carrying over 5.6 million people’s names, submitted from space fans around the world, tucked in a tiny pocket.

The character quickly became a breakout star of the mission, the first flight to deep space in a half-century. The public reaction appeared to catch the agency off-guard. NASA doesn’t make its own merchandise, and it had not issued any licenses to manufacture the toys before the launch on April 1. That meant the Kennedy Space Center gift shop and others were inundated with requests for Rise over the course of the 10-day mission with not one plushie on the shelves to sell.

“We sincerely appreciate your excitement and support,” the Kennedy shop had said in a notice on its website earlier this month, “and kindly ask for your patience as fulfillment times may be longer than usual.”

Popularity skyrocketed as people saw the crew’s affection for Rise, whom Koch called their “stowaway.” During live broadcasts, Glover would position the plushie in front so it would look as though it were talking into the floating microphone. Wiseman was spotted leaving the bobbing Orion spacecraft with Rise hooked onto his pressure suit. 

“I was supposed to leave Rise in Integrity,” he said on X, referring to the crew’s nickname for their space capsule, “but that was not something I was going to do.” 

One day later, Wiseman showed that Rise was still safe in his custody, tethered to his water bottle. 

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Where to buy NASA’s official Artemis II plushie “Rise”

Now, three weeks after Artemis II’s successful return to Earth, customers can purchase their own Rise plushies from NASA Exchange, the self‑funded network of gift shops that does not run on taxpayer dollars. Along with the plushies, which retail for $24.99 apiece, are other mementos featuring Rise, including a T-shirt that reads “Copy, Moon Joy,” a slogan that had its own viral moment during the test flight.

There are sure to be some differences between the original and its mass-produced doppelgängers. The moonbound Rise was bespoke, made at NASA’s Thermal Blanket Lab in Maryland out of strict, spaceflight-approved materials. It’s unclear whether these plushies will also feature the tiny footprint on the back, representing Neil Armstrong’s one small step. NASA officials didn’t immediately respond to questions from Mashable.

Because the winning design from the contest had a late reveal — just five days before liftoff — commercial vendors didn’t have time to prepare licensed versions of Rise, said David Rager, creative director at NASA.

Orders for Rise merchandise may take up to eight weeks to fulfill. All profits will go toward activities and facilities that serve NASA employees. 

“This little guy, Rise, really resonated with us,” Koch said.

​Mashable