A California native is going to space on Artemis II — and it’s not a human. RISE, a plushie designed by 8-year-old Lucas Ye, is joining four astronauts in space aboard Artemis II, marking the first human return mission to the moon in over half a century. Ye’s design was among hundreds of submissions from around the world to The Moon Mascot: NASA Artemis II ZGI Design Challenge hosted on Freelancer.