Blast Off! Topps Honors Artemis II Crew With Topps Now Card
Millions of people around the globe watched history unfold on Wednesday, April 1, as NASA’s Artemis II rocket blasted off into space with four astronauts aboard for the first lunar mission since 1972. Topps has marked the occasion with a special-edition Topps Now card.
The historic mission lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and will take the astronauts through a 10-day journey. They will travel completely around the Earth, beyond the moon, and then back to Earth.
The crew includes the first woman, person of color, and non-American who will reach the moon. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen are all aboard the Orion space capsule. If all goes according to plan, this group will fly further from Earth than other humans in history.
Now, collectors can own a piece of the moment with a print-on-demand Topps Now issue of the Artemis II.
Collectors who purchase these cards directly from Fanatics have the chance to find parallels or a short print variation included with their shipment. Parallels include:
- Gold Foil /50
- Orange Foil /25
- Black Foil /10
- Red Foil /5
- FoilFractor /1
The short print version of the card also includes the American flag and an Artemis-branded flag blowing in the wind as the rocket launches behind them.
This card is available directly from Fanatics through April 5, though individual base versions have already popped up on secondary marketplaces like eBay as dealers take advantage of bulk discount pricing from Topps.
This is not the first time Topps has gone outside the traditional sports or entertainment routes with its Topps Now brand. Most recently, Topps gave the final U.S. penny minted its own card, and Topps has also commemorated events like Robert Prevost’s rise as the first American Pope and the 2024 solar eclipse that crossed part of the United States.
