Canadians among finalists for Artemis II Moon Mascot Contest
Three Canadian finalists are among the contenders for the Artemis II Moon Mascot design contest.
For the first time ever, the public and students globally were invited to design the Artemis II mission's zero gravity indicator (ZGI) and there are three Canadian finalists among the contenders. ZGIs are small items that provide a visual indicator of when a spacecraft has reached microgravity. More than 2,600 submissions from over 50 countries were received. The 25 finalists represent 10 countries: the United States, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Peru, Singapore, and Wales.
The Artemis II crew, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, will soon select one of the finalist designs to join them inside the Orion spacecraft. NASA's Thermal Blanket Lab will fabricate it for flight.
Congratulations to everyone who took part in the contest, and a special mention to the three Canadian finalists:
Version texte
- stuffing: polyester fiberfill
- faux fur
- underside of ears: cotton fabric
- constellations: VDA film
- beige thread
- zero gravity
- 6 in X 6 in
Version texte
- Body, head, hands and paws are stuffed with Poly-fill
- 6 in X 6 in
Version texte
- gold-plated helmet half open around head
- pink faux-fur (ears)
- white faux fur (face)
- black eyes sewn with black thread
- black nose sewn with black thread
- Moon design with white/grey fabric (chest)
- zipper look stitched with pink thread
- white faux fur (paws)
- black paw pads in black faux-fur
- light grey spacesuit
- 3 1/2 in wide
- Students from Oakville Trafalgar High School in Oakville, Ontario, who created Lepus the Moon Rabbit (note: Lepus is the Latin name for hare and a constellation located near Orion's feet);
- Caroline Goyer-Desrosiers from Saint-Eustache, Quebec, for her flying squirrel;
- Students at the Royal School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for their design of Luna the Space Polar Bear.
You can view the 25 finalist designs on NASA's website.