Artemis crew surprises 5-year-old aspiring astronaut with special gift

The Artemis II team gained a new member Friday, and the crew made sure their youngest teammate had the right stuff for space.

When the Artemis crew launched from Florida last month, Jack, a 5-year-old aspiring astronaut from Atlanta, told CBS News he’s “so obsessed with space” and wore his own spacesuit for the launch. The suit bore the rank of commander, so CBS News’ Rob Marciano gave Jack a nickname: Commander Jack.

Commander Jack, dressed in his white spacesuit, joined “CBS Mornings” Friday for a town hall event with the Artemis crew, and the astronauts had a surprise for him.

Mission specialist Christina Koch presented Jack with an orange spacesuit matching the ones the astronauts wore during the mission.

“It says commander just like yours, so you can still keep your title,” Koch said.

The spacesuit was signed by the crew, but another feature of the suit caught Jack’s eye.

“It says NASA!” Jack exclaimed.

“We would like to have you on our team,” Koch said. “What do you think?”

Jack gave a thumbs-up, rushed over to his parents for a hug and then thanked Koch with a hug as well.

“Jack has been hugely inspired by this mission and by all of you,” Jack’s mom told the astronauts. “So thank you so much for everything you’re doing, obviously not just for Jack, but for all of humanity.”