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Eight-Year-Old Meets Astronaut After Plush Toy Flies on Artemis II
Lucas Ye, who designed the Rise plush selected as the Artemis II zero-gravity indicator, met pilot Victor Glover on or before June 18, 2026. NASA posted video of the encounter the same day.
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Eight-year-old Lucas Ye met astronaut Victor Glover on or before June 18, 2026, after his plush toy design, Rise, flew aboard NASA's Artemis II mission as the zero-gravity indicator. NASA posted a video of the meeting on X on June 18, 2026. In the footage, Glover greeted Ye and handed him the actual Rise plush that had traveled around the moon aboard the Orion spacecraft.
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"Nice to meet you in person," Glover told Ye. Glover then asked whether it was the first time Ye had touched the flight-used plush. "That is pretty neat," Glover said. "Well, thank you for submitting your idea.
Ye designed Rise as part of NASA's Artemis II Moon Mascot Challenge. The plush was chosen from thousands of submissions to serve as the mission's zero-gravity indicator, an object released to float once the spacecraft reached weightlessness. Rise became a fan favorite during the flight and an unofficial mascot for the Artemis II crew, which included commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen.
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