When the Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific last week after flying around the moon, mission commander Reid Wiseman was supposed to leave one thing behind in the capsule: the mission’s official plushie mascot, named Rise.
Yeah, that wasn’t happening.
Wiseman stuffed the little guy into a dry bag from the survival kit, hooked it to his pressure suit, and brought it home. He posted a photo the next day with Rise tethered to his water bottle. His caption: “It’s hard not to love this little guy.”
PS- it’s hard not to love this little guy. I cant let Rise out of my sight…currently tethered to my water bottle. pic.twitter.com/U8UZYUVQiy
— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) April 11, 2026
Rise was designed by an 8-year-old kid named Lucas Ye from Mountain View, California, who beat out 2,600 entries from 50 countries in a NASA design contest. The round white body represents the moon. There’s a footprint on the back, a nod to Neil Armstrong’s first step in 1969.
The astronaut flew around the moon. Set a record for the farthest any human has ever traveled from Earth. And still couldn’t part with a stuffed animal made by a third-grader.
Honestly? Same.
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