Everyone knows that Earth is soaring through outer space. But, did you know that a plush version of our planet is also floating up there?
The plush Little Earth character from Celestial Buddies embarked on a space mission last year aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule for the company’s Demo-1 mission. Now, it’s time for the Earth-themed plush toy — aka “Earthy” — to come back down to our planet. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are launching into space today to complete the company’s Demo-2 mission, and “Earthy” has plans to come back with them.
This marks the first crewed launch to the International Space Station on a commercially built rocket and the first launch of American astronauts from U.S. soil since 2011. The astronauts will spend one-four months on board and will bring the Celestial Buddies plush friend home with them.
While in space, “Earthy” served as a “super hi-tech zero gravity indicator,” according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, which he said on Twitter. The plush toy helped the astronauts measure space growth, had candlelight dinners with other plush friends, and kept the astronauts company.
Families can purchase their own “Earthies,” available in 6-inch and 9-inch versions. Celestial Buddies offers 15 plush pals in the collection, including the sun, the moon, the planets, Polaris, a comet, and a black hole.
