A Well-traveled Beagle | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission

A Well-traveled Beagle | NASA's Artemis I Moon Mission

Snoopy, the zero gravity indicator that flew aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission, wears a smile after being unpacked from his transport case on Jan. 5, 2023. Zero gravity indicators are small items carried aboard spacecraft that provide a visual indicator when a spacecraft has reached the weightlessness of microgravity. NASA has held an association with Snoopy since the Apollo Era—the character has contributed to the excitement for NASA human spaceflight missions, helping inspire generations to dream big, and is a symbol of NASA’s safety culture and mission success.

Orion returned to Kennedy on Dec. 30, 2022, after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, 2022, following a 25-day mission around the Moon. 

After launching atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Nov. 16, 2022, from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, Orion spent 25.5 days in space before returning to Earth, completing the Artemis I mission. Orion stayed in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and returned home faster and hotter than ever before.

The Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, the SLS rocket, and Kennedy Space Center's Exploration Ground Systems. 

Learn more about Artemis I: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i

Image Credit: NASA/Isaac Watson

Release Date: Jan. 17, 2023

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