Innovation in Focus: Mascots
Mascots Tremor and Little Earth float by a U.S. spacesuit in the Quest airlock of the ISS.
Media Credit: NASA
June 17, 2025 • By Kris Rainey, Staff Writer
Mascots. We see them everywhere. At sporting events, schools, theme parks, corporations, community events, and even in space. Beginning with Snoopy back in the 1960s, mascots have played an important role in space exploration, inspiration, and education. Sometimes, mascots bring a small but welcome reminder of home to astronauts living and working approximately 250 miles above Earth.
It’s National Mascot Day—an ideal time to highlight space mascots throughout history.
Snoopy Joins NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Media Credit: NASA
Snoopy joined NASA in 1968 as a mascot for the Manned Flight Awareness program (now called the Space Flight Awareness program). Last year, he joined NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew 6 commander Stephen Bowen during the historic solar eclipse on April 4, 2024.
Rawrr!
Media Credit: NASA
Astronaut Richard N. Richards, serving as the pilot of space shuttle Columbia during the STS-28 mission, is photographed at the pilot’s station on the flight deck. Nearby, a tiger—the mascot of the University of Missouri, his alma mater—adds an unexpected element to the scene.
The Eagle Has Taken Flight
Media Credit: NASA
The astronauts of STS-51A—Commander Rick Hauck (front), and (left to right) Dale Gardner, David Walker, Anna Fisher, and Joseph Allen—pose with their mission mascot, the eagle. One of the mission objectives was to launch and retrieve satellites, making the eagle—who swoops in to take its prey—a symbolic choice.
Speaking of eagles, an investigation launched to the ISSInternational Space Station last year is aiming to find new ways to treat heart disease here on Earth.
“Little Earth” Sees Earth
Media Credit: NASA
In 2019, NASA astronaut Anne McClain—currently onboard the ISS as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission—tweeted this image of “Little Earth” saying, “Yes buddy, that’s your Mother Earth. Isn’t she beautiful.” The plush toy, a “super high-tech zero-g indicator,” was launched to the ISS aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule during its first uncrewed test flight.
Paxi Enjoys MicrogravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment.
Media Credit: ESA
Paxi, the mascot for the European Space Agency’s Education Office, took to the skies to introduce the next generation of scientists and explorers to STEM and space-related activities. Here on Earth, Paxi continues the important mission of workforce development as we continue the exciting journey to the moon and beyond!
You can learn more about ISS National Lab STEM programs and opportunities in this fun photo essay.
Make Your Own Mascot
Media Credit: NASA
NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, flight engineer on Expeditions 36 and 37, made this stuffed dinosaur toy aboard the ISS out of scraps of food-packaging liners and a T-shirt.
Two is Better Than One
Media Credit: NASA
Sultan Alneyadi and Andreas Mogensen, flight engineers for Expedition 69, pose with their zero-g indicators onboard the orbiting laboratory. Suhail (left) and Sasha the Sloth (right) accompanied the crew as they conducted groundbreaking science sponsored by the ISS National Lab aiming to benefit life here on Earth.
Meet Podcast Mascot, Rocket
Meet Rocket, unofficial mascot of our podcast Between a Rocket & A Hard Space. In each episode, podcast host Patrick O’Neill takes a deep dive into the discoveries, innovations, and people shaping the future of space. Have you subscribed yet?
Joy in Space
Media Credit: Axiom Space
Axiom Mission 4, the latest private astronaut mission slated to launch to the ISS this month, will carry its own zero-g indicator named Joy.
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