Items Artemis I is carrying: From Snoopy toy to Apollo 11 mission patch

The Artemis I has a two launch window starting from 8:33 am ET, 6:33 pm IST and with it, NASA will be making the first steps towards deep space exploration. 

While this flight may be unmanned, the Orion Spacecraft, the human carrying capsule, will be far from empty. The module will be carrying several mementos of humanity’s journey of spaceflight, along with things like a plushie of Snoopy. Overall, Orion will be carrying just under 55 kilograms of mementos and other things that NASA has determined to be a part of the official flight kit. 

Also Read: What are the important aspects of NASA’s Artemis programme?

The three Musketeers

The Orion capsule can seat up to four passengers. This time around however, only three mannequins are going to be on the ride to the Moon. While their presence might seem innocuous, in truth they serve an important function. 

Commander Moonikin Campos will be serving as a means to gather data on acceleration and vibration that can be expected to be felt by a real individual. The name was chosen after a public contest and is a nod to electrics subsystem engineer, Arturo Campus, who was instrumental in Apollo 13’s safe return to Earth. 

Seated alongside Commander Campos are two other mannequin astronauts named Helga and Zohar. They are modelled after how a woman’s body is, with a material that replicates the same soft tissue, organs and bones. The two bodies are outfitted with more than 5,600 sensors and 34 radiation detectors to track the effects of the deadly rays on a woman’s body. 

Also Read: Artemis I launch: All you need to know

While Helga will serve as the control in the test flight, Zohar will be outfitted with a radiation protection vest, as part of a collaborative effort from many countries across the world, called the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment. 

Alexa in space

Amazon’s Alexa will be joining the three mannequins in their journey to space. The voice-command operated software has been developed as part of a collaboration between aerospace company Lockheed Martin, Amazon and Cisco.

The tech is called Callisto, named after one of the attendants of the Greek goddess of the hunt, Artemis. The goal of the demo is to show how new technologies can help astronauts and future space endeavors more efficient and safer as humanity explores space. 

Snoopy and Shaun the Sheep

Ever since Charles M. Sshulz first drew the Snoopy comic strips featuring the titular character on the Moon, NASA has included the big-nosed dog in its missions, in some shape or form. The Apollo 10 lunar module was nicknamed Snoopy after the character as its job was to “snoop” around for a potential landing spot for the Apollo 11 to land on the Moon. 

Snoopy first flew into space as a plushie aboard the Columbia space shuttle in 1990. A pen nib used by Schulz will also be going along on this mission, wrapped in a space-themed comic strip. A plushie Snoopy will serve as this trip’s zero gravity indicator and will travel inside the Orion capsule. 

NASA has been collaborating with the European Space Agency for the Artemis programme, and to that end the space agency on the other side of the pond has provided its own plushie of Shaun the Sheep, a character from spin off from the beloved children’s series Wallace and Gromit. 

In addition to the two plushies, four LEGO mini-figures will be along for the ride as part of the toy company’s push towards engaging children in STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) education.

Also Read: Artemis 1 launch: When and where to watch

The space time capsule

The Artemis I Official Flight Kit will contain thousands of items. It will include space science badges from the Girl Scouts of America, digitized student visions of lunar expeditions from the German Space Agency as well as items that honor the people who contributed to the programme. 

Additionally, a bolt from one of Apollo 11’s F-1 engines will also be part of the flight kit, so will a Apollo 8 medallion and an Apollo 11 mission patch

To top it off, A 3-D printed replica of the Greek goddess Artemis, the mission’s namesake, will also be present.