“Even in the vast silence of space, it is the smallest dream; carried gently, without gravity; that reminds us how far the human spirit can rise.” – MJ Martin
Have you seen it? That ball-shaped object that the four astronauts seem to always play with during the media events. Have you wondered what the heck it is and why it is there?
I have. So I had to investigate it and learn what the story was with the floating head in space. Here is what I learned.
High above Earth, tucked gently inside the Orion spacecraft of Artemis II, there floats a quiet passenger. No helmet. No checklist. No rank or title. Just a soft, smiling face and a name that feels like a promise: Rise.
Rise did not come from a laboratory or a factory floor. It began as an idea in the mind of an eight year old boy, Lucas Ye, who loved rockets and the quiet mystery of the night sky. His design, chosen from more than 2,600 entries across over 50 countries, was not just clever. It was heartfelt. A smiling moon wearing a cap shaped like Earth, dotted with stars and echoes of history, including the famous Earthrise image from the Apollo 8.
And so, Rise was invited aboard.
The astronauts of Artemis II, including Canada’s Jeremy Hansen, carried with them cutting edge systems, decades of engineering, and the weight of human expectation. But somewhere among the cables and controls sat this small plush companion, no larger than a softball, patiently waiting for its moment.
That moment came not with a sound, but with a silence.
As the rocket climbed and Earth loosened its grip, something subtle changed. The force that holds oceans and mountains in place simply… let go. And in that quiet transition, Rise began to float.
There it was. The signal. No flashing light, no alarm. Just a gentle drift upward, a soft confirmation that humanity had once again slipped the bonds of gravity. This is the purpose of a “zero gravity indicator,” a tradition that reaches all the way back to the earliest days of spaceflight, when cosmonauts released small objects to prove they were truly weightless.
But Rise is more than a signal.
Inside its stitched seams is something extraordinary. A memory card carrying the names of 5.6 million people who signed up through NASA, including my name, each one reaching, in their own way, for the stars. It is a reminder that this journey is not just about four astronauts, or even one nation. It is a shared human story.
And so Rise drifts.
It bobs gently during press conferences, tumbles playfully through the cabin, occasionally caught and released by gloved hands. Astronauts smile at it. Cameras follow it. For a brief moment, in a vessel of immense complexity, it becomes the simplest thing in the room.
A toy.
A symbol.
A companion.
In a mission defined by precision and discipline, Rise brings something softer. It carries the imagination of a child into the vastness of space. It bridges Apollo and Artemis, past and future, Earth and Moon.
And perhaps that is why it matters.
Because as Orion arcs around the Moon and humanity once again ventures into deep space, it is not only science and engineering that make the journey possible. It is curiosity. Wonder. And the quiet belief that even the smallest idea, drawn at a kitchen table, can one day float among the stars.
Rise does not speak. It does not calculate trajectories or manage systems. Yet in its gentle orbit inside the spacecraft, it tells a story.
We are still dreaming.
And we are still rising.
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees – in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 80 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) [aka Micro Learning] continuous education programs in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.