{"id":1910302,"date":"2026-04-30T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1910302"},"modified":"2026-04-30T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T06:00:00","slug":"nasas-official-artemis-ii-plushie-rise-now-for-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1910302","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s official Artemis II plushie ‘Rise’ now for sale"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/00gjGthhLjNNQ23dtzZ31id\/hero-image.fill.size_1200x675.v1777499284.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Home<\/a>><\/span>Science<\/a>><\/span>Space<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

You can now own your own little Artemis II ‘Rise’ plushie<\/h1>\n
Weightlessness not included.<\/div>\n
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\n \u00a0By\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elisha Sauers<\/a><\/p>\n
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\"Mashable<\/p>\n
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Elisha Sauers<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA’s moon and Mars missions<\/a>, chatting up astronauts<\/a> and history-making discoverers<\/a>, and jetting above the clouds<\/a>. Through 17 years of reporting, she’s covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for The Virginian-Pilot<\/em> in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Capital<\/em> in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association’s top honor, Best in Show<\/u><\/a>,\u00a0and national recognition<\/u><\/a> for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awards<\/u><\/a>, including first place for her Sex in Space<\/a> series. Send space tips and story ideas to [email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/u><\/a> or text 443-684-2489. Follow her on X at @elishasauers<\/u><\/a>.\n <\/div>\n

Read Full Bio<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0on\u00a0

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\"Rise<\/p>\n
Rise, a zero-gravity indicator designed by a second-grader, floats in the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission around the moon.<\/span>Credit: NASA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Space<\/u><\/a> fans can now order Rise<\/u><\/a>, the plushie that stole the world’s hearts when it flew around the moon<\/u><\/a> with the Artemis II<\/u><\/a> astronauts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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<\/u><\/a>, Baby Yoda, and other stuffed animals that sometimes reach mascot status.<\/p>\n

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<\/u><\/a> taken during Apollo 8, when humans first saw our home planet hovering just above the moon’s horizon.<\/p>\n

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Lucas crafted his own prototype before winning a NASA<\/u><\/a> contest last year out of more than 2,600 entries. The crew\u00a0 \u2014 Commander Reid Wiseman<\/u><\/a>, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen \u2014 had the final pick.\u00a0During 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.<\/p>\n

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 beforethe launch<\/u><\/a> 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<\/u><\/a> with not one plushie on the shelves to sell.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

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\"Lucas<\/div>\n
Rise zero-gravity indicator designer Lucas Ye, a second-grader from California, attends the Artemis II launch at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026. <\/span>Credit: NASA \/ Keegan Barber<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I was supposed to leave Rise in Integrity,” he said on X<\/u><\/a>, referring to the crew’s nickname for their space capsule, “but that was not something I was going to do.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

One day later, Wiseman showed that Rise<\/u><\/a> was still safe in his custody, tethered to his water bottle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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I was supposed to leave Rise in Integrity\u2026.but that was not something I was going to do. I stuffed that little guy in a dry bag we had in our survival kit and hooked the bag onto my pressure suit.<\/p>\n

— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n