Hugg-A-Planet: The Newest Addition to the International Space Station
November 4, 2009 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis In many cultures around the world, a hug is a sign of affection. This was the sentiment behind the name Hugg-A-Planet for the soft globes produced by the company with the same name, whose spheres are now orbiting the Earth.
On this year’s anniversary of the brutal destruction of the Twin Towers, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched a resupply rocket to the International Space Station, which included among its contents a Hugg-A-Planet Earth, Moon, and Mars.
“I was actually in New York City for a vigil for peace that was run by the United Nations in Central Park during the same weekend that the Hugg-A-Planets docked at the space station,” said Robert Forenza, the company’s president.
“We were selected by NASA because our Hugg-A-Planets would survive the flight and because they have so much detail. Mars has 400 places labeled on it, which makes it the most detailed Mars commercially available,” continued Mr. Forenza, also adding that, “All of the planets will be there for the duration of the space station’s life until 2016, but I imagine they will extend it to 2020.”