The mission — which will launch the Artemis program, with the goal of eventually returning humans to the moon — continues a tradition that began in the 1960s with NASA spacecraft carrying souvenirs. The delivery includes the Voyager probe gold record and the Perseverance rover microchip with 10.9 million names. Artemis I will carry 120 kg of souvenirs and other items in its official flight kit. In command of Orion will be Commander Moonikin Campos, a suitable mannequin that can collect data on what future human crews might experience on a lunar journey. Its name, chosen through a public competition, is a nod to Arturo Campos, a NASA electrical power subsystem manager who helped bring Apollo 13 safely back to Earth. The commander’s position has sensors behind the seat and headrest to monitor acceleration and vibration during the mission, which is expected to last about 42 days. The mannequin will also wear the new Orion Crew Survival System suit designed for astronauts to wear during launch and re-entry. The suit has two radiation sensors. Two “phantoms” named Helga and Zohar will lead to other Orion positions. These mannequin torsos are made of materials that mimic a woman’s soft tissues, organs and bones. The two trunks have more than 5,600 sensors and 34 radiation detectors to measure how much radiation exposure occurs during the mission. Callisto, named after one of Artemis’ hunting companions from Greek mythology, aims to show how astronauts and flight controllers can use technology to make their jobs safer and more efficient as the humans explore deep space. Callisto will drive to Orion’s center console. The touchscreen tablet will share live video and audio between the spacecraft and Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center in Houston.
Games in space
Snoopy and space go together. The beloved character created by Charles M. Schulz has been associated with the NASA missions since the Apollo program, when Schulz drew comics showing Snoopy on the moon. The Apollo 10 lunar module was nicknamed “Snoopy” because its job was to track and detect the Apollo 11 landing site on the moon, according to NASA. A plush Snoopy first flew into space in 1990 aboard the space shuttle Columbia. A pen nib used by Schulz from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California, will join the Artemis I mission, wrapped in a space-themed comic book. And a Snoopy plush toy will fly as a zero-gravity indicator in the capsule. The agency has a long history of using toys in space as zero-gravity markers — so named because they begin to float once the spacecraft enters zero gravity. As part of NASA’s partnership with the European Space Agency, which provided the service module for Orion, a small Shaun the Sheep toy will also be a passenger on Artemis. The character is part of a children’s show from the “Wallace and Gromit” series. Four Lego minifigures will also ride aboard Orion as part of an ongoing partnership between NASA and The Lego Group in hopes of engaging children and adults in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.
A space-time capsule
The official Artemis I flight kit, which includes thousands of items, contains a variety of patches, pins and flags to share with those who contributed to the inaugural flight once the capsule launches into the Pacific Ocean in October. Some of the items — such as space science badges from the Girl Scouts of America, digitized student visions of lunar exploration from the German Space Agency and digital entries from the Artemis Moon Pod display contest — honor the contributions of interested students and teachers. for STEM. A variety of tree and plant seeds will be on board in a nod to a similar tradition that began during the Apollo 14 mission. The seeds were later planted and became “Moon Trees” as part of an experiment to understand the effects of space environment in seeds. NASA will share the Artemis seeds with teachers and educational organizations once the capsule returns. Several Apollo items are along for the ride, including an Apollo 8 commemorative medal, an Apollo 11 mission patch, a bolt from one of Apollo 11’s F-1 engines, and a small moon rock collected during Apollo 11 who also flew on the last space shuttle flight. The items were shared by the National Air and Space Museum, which will display them in an exhibit once they return. There will also be cultural pieces on the flight. A 3D replica of the Greek goddess Artemis will join the space journey and later be exhibited at the Acropolis Museum in Greece. The European Space Agency shared a postcard with Georges Méliès’ famous “A Trip to the Moon” artwork for the flight kit. And the Israel Space Agency donated a pebble from Earth’s lowest dry land, the shore of the Dead Sea, to travel on Artemis 1, a flight that will venture further than any human has gone.
