Naoko Takeuchi visiting the Kennedy Space Center in the 1990s and meeting an astronaut! She was visiting the Center to do research for her Sailor Moon side story, "The Lover of Princess Kaguya," which was later turned into the Sailor Moon S Movie.
Decades later, when a plushie of Artemis was spotted in the mission control center during the Artemis II mission, Naoko expressed surprise and delight:
āIn the manga, heās the little cat who sends instructions to the Sailor Guardians from the command room,ā she said. āThat was just a fantasy that existed only in the story, so to think that 30 years later Artemis would appear in NASAās mission control, a place Iāve always admired, is incredible. Iām so jealous. Thank you for watching over humanityās great achievement for ten days. You did a wonderful job.ā
āIām overwhelmed that a classic from 35 years ago is still being talked about around the world,ā she said. āIām so happy. It may have been an immature work, but Iām amazed to realize that classics can become timeless across generations. Manga, anime, live actionāitās such a blessing that this work continues to be shared in so many forms.ā





















