--- title: "SpaceX’s Latest “Zero-G Indicator” Is a Baby Yoda" description: "Astronauts on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule currently headed to the ISS brought a Baby Yoda doll along as a \"zero-gravity indicator.\"" date: "2020-11-16" modified: "2020-11-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-crew-dragon-zero-gravity-indicator-baby-yoda" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "crew dragon" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # SpaceX’s Latest “Zero-G Indicator” Is a Baby Yoda ![Astronauts on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule currently headed to the ISS brought a Baby Yoda doll along as a "zero-gravity indicator."]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## The Child Astronauts on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which is currently headed to the International Space Station, decided to bring a secret stowaway along with them as a "zero-gravity indicator:" a Baby Yoda plush toy from Disney's hit show "The Mandalorian." "We've got Baby Yoda on board trying to take a seat right now," NASA communications specialist Leah Cheshier said, as [quoted by *Business Insider*](), during a livestream of [last night's historic launch](). SpaceX has brought along a number of different "zero-gravity indicators," which are small objects that start to float when a spacecraft cabin encounters microgravity, on different missions. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley brought a [sequined dinosaur]() called "Tremor" to the space station during the first crewed Crew Dragon test mission earlier this year. And a plush doll of the Earth called "Earthy" made it on board [the uncrewed test flight]() in March 2019. ## Stowaway The four astronauts made history on Sunday evening, becoming the first operational ISS crew to take off from American soil in almost a decade. Baby Yoda made the best out of its unexpected journey into outer space. The stream showed it bobbing around from one end of the capsule to the other. At one point, it even settled in NASA astronaut Victor Glover's seat. "Maybe Baby Yoda's trying to pilot the vehicle," Cheshier joked. **READ MORE:** [Astronauts brought an extra crew member onto SpaceX's Crew Dragon ship before it launched to orbit: a Baby Yoda toy]() \[*Business Insider*\] **More on Crew-1:** *[Liftoff! SpaceX Launches NASA Astronauts Aboard Dragon Spacecraft]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()