"Not Something I Was Going To Do": Artemis II Commander Blatantly Breaks NASA Protocol With Bold Move
Bored Panda • • science
Key Points:
- Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman broke NASA protocol by taking the mission’s zero-gravity indicator mascot, a stuffed toy named Rise, out of the Orion spacecraft after splashdown, instead of leaving it onboard as required.
- Rise, designed by 8-year-old Lucas Ye and inspired by the Apollo 8 Earthrise moment, traveled with the crew on their 10-day lunar mission and now resides with Wiseman and his daughters.
- The plush mascot contained an SD card with the names of over five million people who wished to be part of the mission, symbolizing humanity’s spirit of exploration.
- The Artemis II crew flew 694,481 miles, captured more than 7,000 images of the lunar surface and a solar eclipse, and conducted tests to prepare for future lunar missions and a Moon Base.
- The crew honored Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, by proposing to name a Moon crater after her, reflecting the personal and emotional aspects of the mission.
