NASA's Artemis II Mission Completes Lunar Orbit with Plush Moon Mascot and Crew Milestones

NASA's Artemis II mission concluded with the Orion spacecraft splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday evening. The mission carried four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch from NASA, and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency—on a 10-day journey around the Moon. This was the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.

The crew tested the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System, evaluating life-support, navigation, and communication systems. Artemis II served as a test flight without a lunar landing, preparing for future missions to return humans to the Moon's surface. The mission launched about a week prior to the social media introduction of the mascot.

A plush moon named Rise joined the crew as the mission's zero-gravity indicator, floating freely to signal weightlessness.

Rise was designed by California student Lucas Ye, selected from over 2,600 submissions in NASA's Moon Mascot contest. The crew chose Rise as their "fifth passenger," with its design inspired by the 1968 Apollo 8 "Earthrise" photograph. Rise includes a microSD card containing millions of names from NASA's "Fly Your Name" program.

NASA introduced Rise via social media posts from the Artemis account, which temporarily changed its profile picture to the plush on Wednesday.

“Hi! I’m Rise! About a week ago, I launched aboard the Artemis II mission with four of my besties.”

m. Eastern time while traveling around the far side of the Moon. The crew set a new distance record during the lunar flyby on the sixth day of the journey. Ahead of the flyby on Monday, the astronauts celebrated Hansen's first spaceflight and received a message from Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke.

The crew named a Moon crater after Carroll, the late wife of Reid Wiseman, who died in 2020. This occurred during an emotional exchange with mission control in Houston and Wiseman's family. President Trump called the astronauts to congratulate them on the journey.

“The conversation celebrated a small, but significant, step in an ambitious plan for missions to the moon and Mars that Mr. Trump had set early in his first term.”

the astronauts' families at their assignment, highlighting their involvement. In Houston, known as "Space City," the event elicited strong reactions among residents and mission control staff. The astronauts reported losing track of Earth days during transit to the Moon.

Artemis II mirrors aspects of Apollo 8, focusing on lunar orbit without landing. The mission's success advances NASA's plans for sustained lunar presence and Mars exploration.