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Four Artemis II astronauts in their blue flight suits stand smiling in front of a cone-shaped black-and-silver Orion spacecraft.
Artemis II crew members, shown inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, stand in front of their Orion crew module on Aug. 8, 2023. Pictured from left are CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch.
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA will host a live Twitch event to highlight the ongoing Moon Mascot Challenge, which invites the public to design a zero gravity indicator for the agency’s Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon. Viewers will have the opportunity to provide real-time input to an artist who will create an example of a zero gravity indicator during the livestream. 

Zero gravity indicators are small, plush items carried aboard spacecraft to provide a visual indication of when the crew reaches space.

The event will begin at 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 13, on the agency’s official Twitch channel:

https://www.twitch.tv/nasa

The contest invites global creators of all ages to submit design ideas for a zero gravity indicator that will fly aboard the agency’s Artemis II test flight, the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign.

Up to 25 finalists, including entries from a K-12 student division, will be selected. The Artemis II crew will choose one design that NASA’s Thermal Blanket Lab will fabricate to fly alongside the crew in the Orion spacecraft.

During this Twitch event, NASA experts will discuss the Moon Mascot Challenge while the artist incorporates live audience feedback into a sample design. Although the design example will not be eligible for the contest, it will demonstrate how challenge participants can develop their own zero gravity indicator designs. The example will be shared on the @NASAArtemis social media accounts following the Twitch event.

The Artemis II test flight will take NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back. The mission is another step toward missions on the lunar surface to help the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars.

To learn more about NASA’s missions, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov

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Last Updated
May 12, 2025
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