Snoopy Handover from Artemis Team to Peanuts Crew

Melissa Menta, at left, senior vice president with Peanuts Worldwide LLC, accepts Snoopy during an official handover from Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson inside Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 18, 2023. To the left of Charlie is Mike Sarafin, Artemis I mission manager. Snoopy served as the zero-gravity indicator during the Artemis I mission. Snoopy was secured inside Orion during the mission, a journey beyond the Moon and back to prepare for crewed missions to the Moon. Artemis I launched atop the Space Launch System rocket on Nov. 16, 2022 from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. Orion returned to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, 2022 after traveling more than 1.4 million miles. 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.